The urgent need to upgrade road safety for motorcyclists was expressed by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Alexis Vafeadis, after the meeting of the Road Safety Council, announcing the Council's decision for a series of measures focused on the safety of motorcyclists, including a campaign to control all maintenance carried out on motorcycles through the Private Vehicle Technical Inspection Centers (IKTEA).
"The competent committee undertook to record the measures, evaluate them and come up with recommendations for adoption by the competent Ministries," said Mr. Vafeadis, after the meeting held at the Ministry of Transport in the presence, among others, of the Minister of Justice and Public Order Costas Fitiris, representatives of the Police and Public Works and the President of the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation and road safety ambassador Adonis Christofides.
The main topic of the session was motorcycles, which is why we also had the participation of the President of the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation, said Mr. Vafeadis and added that the goal is to have a new session of the Council in a month.
Among the measures for motorcyclists, according to the Minister, "we can say that we will proceed with the sponsorship for the purchase of safety equipment, for the possible withdrawal of old motorcycles, which do not have the necessary safety mechanisms, but we will also launch a campaign to control all maintenance carried out on motorcycles through IKTEON.
Mr. Vafeadis said that from road collisions this year, we had 15 deaths, of which 7 were motorcyclists.
Of these 7, as he said, 4 were proven not to be wearing helmets and "there is also the possibility that 6 of the 7 were not wearing helmets, because the helmet was found next to it" at the scene of the accident.
This is a huge road behavior issue and it was a major concern of the Council today, he added.
He also mentioned that one of the problems is that a motorcycle "may not be well maintained and this will unfortunately contribute to the improper management of an incident, which results in a very serious accident."
He added that "we will also pursue this issue to see whether the mechanics are maintaining the motorcycles properly or not."
"We are starting an action focused on the issue of motorcyclist safety and we are moving forward," he emphasized.
Asked how the mechanics will be checked to ensure that they are properly maintaining the motorcycles, Mr. Vafeadis said that the Department of Road Transport keeps a register for the IKTEOs and there will be a campaign in which an audit will be conducted of what the IKTEOs monitor, what has passed through the IKTEOs and what happens the next day.
He stated that "a similar campaign was carried out when we had problems with the buses and cases were identified in which the legislation had not been properly implemented regarding the checks that the engineers were supposed to carry out."
Asked to comment on the sponsorships, the Minister of Transport said that "in recent years we have been systematically providing sponsorships - we had provided for several years for airbags."
He mentioned that today they discussed with Mr. Christofides that "we probably need to see the states again, with new standards and how we can help people get helmets so that we can protect the motorcyclist in the worst possible moment."
"It is something that is in the Ministry's budget and it is simply a matter of deciding the specifications and announcing it," he added.
When asked if there will be a campaign in English for those who do not know Greek, Mr. Vafeadis answered in the affirmative, saying that this "is necessary because we have many foreigners in Cyprus who ride motorcycles and the message must reach them as well."
The Minister thanked the President of the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation, Adonis Christofides, who participated in the meeting and is this year's road safety ambassador, stating that Mr. Christofides made a presentation and proposed a series of measures.
The Minister then gave the floor to the President of the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation to state his position on the issue so that "the public can hear what it means to be a motorcyclist, to face these issues daily and how they themselves suggest moving forward," as he said.
Mr. Christofides said that "it is very important to offer our expertise regarding improving motorcycle road safety in Cyprus" and added that they conveyed the "clear views" they have.
"We see that the state authorities are willing to respond so that we can take substantive measures to address the problem," he said and expressed confidence that "with our cooperation we will manage to bring significant results."
At this point, the Minister of Transport said that Mr. Christofides has accepted to participate in the competent committee that will manage these issues and added that "at the next Council we will be able to announce which measures we are adopting and when we will implement them."
He stated that the suggestions for taking these measures were made by Mr. Christofides and added that one of them was from the Electromechanical Service.
Mr. Christofides said that these are suggestions that concern immediate actions, but also medium-term and long-term actions, "so that we aim to address the issue with a comprehensive policy."
"It is a very serious issue, which cannot be addressed with simple jerky movements," he added.
Supreme Court decision soon on ban on practicing a profession with a student permit
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Asked whether the measures concern all motorcycles regardless of engine capacity and what happens to those who drive with a learner's license, Mr. Vafeadis said that in relation to driving with a learner's license, "very soon we will have a decision from the Council of Ministers to begin implementing the legislation."
"The semester, which was extended, is ending and all motorcycle drivers will have to implement some basic safety issues," he said, adding that one of these safety issues "is that they will not be entitled to practice a profession with a learner's permit."
In turn, the President of the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation said that "we must start treating motorcycles with the same lens," adding that motorcycles should not be separated into "large and small displacements."
"The process of dealing with motorcycles from the perspective of drivers, riders and others is the same," he said, adding, "even a small motorcycle can be dangerous."
"A large motorcycle, when driven properly, is much safer than a small one and vice versa," he concluded.
