Newsroom
A traffic camera caught MP Yiannis Laouris driving above the speed limit near Platres, prompting him to draw attention to what he describes as serious problems with Cyprus's system for delivering traffic fines.
Laouris disclosed the incident in a video shared on the social media accounts of his party, Direct Democracy, revealing that the camera had recorded his vehicle while he was driving downhill from the mountain village.
“Yesterday, the camera caught me while I was coming down from Platres,” he said, asking viewers when they had last received a speeding ticket from a traffic camera.
However, his main concern was not the speeding incident itself, but the growing backlog of traffic fines that have never reached the motorists involved.
According to Laouris, the authorities and the company responsible for the camera system have provided significantly different figures for the number of outstanding notifications.
He said the transport minister had told a parliamentary committee that there were 85,000 undelivered fines. The company operating the system subsequently gave a figure of 180,000.
Laouris said he then approached the Police directly to establish the actual number, only to be told that the figure was close to 500,000.
The MP also criticized the time it takes for speeding notifications to reach drivers, saying that fines can arrive months after an offence. By then, motorists may struggle to remember when or where they were caught.
Laouris outlined four proposals that he and his party believe could improve the system:
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Warnings for first-time offenders: Drivers should receive a warning rather than a fine for their first speeding violation.
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Higher speed tolerance: The permitted margin above the speed limit should increase to 20%.
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Faster notifications: Fines should be delivered promptly, with Laouris pointing to Dubai as an example.
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Cancellation of undelivered fines: All fines that cannot be delivered should be cancelled, while the existing procedures should undergo a review.
Laouris argues that changes are needed both to address the backlog and to make the traffic enforcement process more effective for motorists.
