More than 4,500 drivers have been caught driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both this year, as Cyprus recorded 43 road deaths compared with 41 during the same period last year.
Traffic police director Charis Evripidou said motorcyclist deaths are particularly concerning, reaching 16 so far this year compared with 12 for the whole of last year.
Despite meetings with motorcyclist organisations since the start of the year highlighting the dangers of not following safety rules, it appears some have not taken the messages on board, he said.
Evripidou highlighted a worrying trend this year of young people who cannot legally ride high-capacity motorcycles registering them in the names of parents or grandparents with temporary insurance and riding them without experience, often with fatal consequences.
Another phenomenon this year involves violations drivers consider minor but which ultimately cost lives, including U-turns, parking against the flow of traffic, mobile phone use whilst driving and failure to wear seatbelts.
From this month, there will be increased checks both for serious causes of accidents and those considered insignificant, Evripidou said. Reports of traffic violations this year are already higher than last year, he added.
Regarding the 13-year-old found behind the wheel and involved in a serious crash, the traffic director said it is inconceivable for a child that age to drive a car and stressed parents’ responsibility not to allow their children access to vehicles when they do not yet have a driving licence.
Alcohol testing will increase ahead of the holidays, Evripidou said. Drug tests are limited, as the State General Laboratory can only process a certain number of samples.
This year up to October, 3,226 drivers were reported for driving under the influence of alcohol, and another 869 tested positive for drugs.
Recently, a driver who tested positive for both substances was involved in a crash that killed a cyclist in Limassol.
A few years ago in another collision, a driver also positive for alcohol and drugs killed another motorist in Limassol and was sentenced to eight years in prison, later reduced to 6.5 years.
Over the past three years, 13,380 drivers tested positive for alcohol and another 3,333 for drugs.
Read more:
