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Cyprus counts 22 road deaths this year

21/06/2022 09:00

Cyprus counts from the 1st of January until today 20 deadly road collisions with 22 dead, of which six did not wear a seat belt. As the Deputy Chief of Police, Demetris Demetriou said, this June, with 8 dead already, is described as a "dark month".

On his part, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, announced a series of actions which he will take to address the phenomenon.

Speaking after a meeting at the Ministry of Transport, Demetriou said that "there is an increase of 33% in fatal road accidents compared to the same period last year and 37.5% in deaths."

He expressed his concern that out of the nine drivers and car passengers, six who lost their lives did not wear seat belts, a rate that is around 66.3%.

However, according to the Deputy Chief of Police, the most tragic thing is that the ages of the dead who did not wear seat belts range from 20 to 39 years.

On his part, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, said that "we are particularly concerned about the increased fatal accidents, although based on statistics from 2011 to 2021 we had a 36.6% reduction in fatalities in Cyprus and we rank 17th in Europe in reduced fatal road accidents".

He added that there was a "55% reduction in serious road injuries while in Europe there was almost no reduction in serious injuries".

Also, 41% of this year fatal traffic accidents occurred from 4 pm to 8 pm and therefore the Minister called on everyone "to show the necessary attention, especially in those hours".

As the Minister said, "until today we are at the level of deaths in 2018, which is why we all believe that we need to take more measures, to take more initiatives."

In this direction, according to Karousos, several proposals are pending in Parliament, as well as amendments to laws submitted by the Ministry of Transport such as changes in driving licenses and additional protective equipment for those who use motorcycles for professional purposes.

Among other things, he said that the Ministry will be increasing its budget related to road safety while it will also go forward with studies in order to determine what should be done to be more effective in promoting road safety.