Two moves that will relieve drivers from the noise of cameras and stiff fines, removing at the same time an established injustice, were decided yesterday by the Road Safety Council.
The Council meeting was monopolized by the photo-marking system, the problems arising from mode of and the reduction that has occurred in fatal accidents.
"F" information states that the two Ministers of Transport and Justice, Alexis Vafeadis and Anna Koukkidis Prokopiou, who have an impeccable productive cooperation on the issue of reducing road deaths, agree that it is unfair that the white line fee from €25 turns into €300, i.e. violation of the red light, if the vehicle moves a certain distance from the traffic lights. Various opinions were heard regarding the reduction of the out-of-court fee, with the prevailing one being €85, as is the case with the violation on a pedestrian crossing.
The Council also discussed the arc that allows drivers to turn right, about which many negative comments are expressed that drivers get stuck, since there is no countdown timer. After much reflection it was decided to give drivers more time from the time the green goes out until the red, so that they can pass without being reported.
Today 3 seconds are given in the interval to report someone from the time the green goes out and according to the decision taken, 4" will be given before the camera start complaining. The Public Works will study this issue further, so they can see what alternatives there are.
The two ministers agreed that the photo-marking system contributes to reducing the traffic problem and it was decided to promotion of a bill prepared by the Ministry of Transport which resolves a number of problems which have arisen in connection with extrajudicial matters. Currently there are over 60.000 unsubsidized out-of-courts, because the drivers did not come to pick up for this reason and by amending the legislation that will be attempted, the contractor company will be able to send the notification via a message to the mobile phone or via e-mail.
In that way the driver will be presumed to have been notified and if he fails to collect or pay for it, then he will be taken to Court.
The bill also regulates the issues of vehicles belonging to companies, so that if the driver who committed the offense is not indicated, then the fine to be paid by the company.
The issue with vehicles being sold and not transferred is also resolved, so that when the new driver is not indicated, the previous driver will be responsible for paying the out-of-court fee. It is also penalized to warn drivers of the presence of cameras on roads with devices (not flashing lights).
The matters concerning the drivers of rental vehicles remain pending and complaints of vehicles belonging to Turkish Cypriots. Various considerations are being studied, to solve the problems so that they do not avoid the payment of the extrajudicial.
During yesterday's session of the Road Safety Council, the system was presented both by the director of the Electromechanical Services Department, Markos Markos, and by the assistant director of the Traffic Department, Haris Evripidou. As mentioned, the four fatal accidents of the last few days have changed the data so far for this year. While until a few days ago the reduction of deaths from road traffic collisions reached 50%, now it is at 25%.
Source: Philenews
