Parliament has approved legislation requiring countdown timers at traffic camera junctions and extended the deadline for paying traffic fines from 30 to 90 days.
The House of Representatives voted by majority yesterday to adopt AKEL’s proposal mandating countdown timers at road junctions monitored by cameras.
The timers will display the remaining seconds before green signals change to amber and then red, for both straight-ahead traffic and right turns.
Authorities must install the timers within six months of the law’s publication. Failure to meet this deadline will result in the suspension of prosecutions for traffic light violations until the timers are installed.
President Christodoulides is expected to refer the law back to parliament. The Ministry of Transport opposes the countdown timers, arguing they would interfere with the operation of smart traffic lights.
In a separate unanimous vote, parliament approved DISY’s proposal to extend the payment period for traffic fines to three months. The new provisions include:
- Extending the payment deadline to 90 days, starting from the date the fine is served rather than when it was issued. Unpaid fines will increase by 50% after the 90-day period.
- Extending the timeframe for criminal prosecution of unpaid fines to 105 days.
- Amending the Traffic Offences (Use of Photo Enforcement Devices and Related Matters) Law so that penalty points for traffic violations expire two years after being imposed.
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