Cyprus Police is holding off on any response until it sees the full implications of a new European Court of Justice ruling, which opens the door to restricting apps that warn drivers about police checks on the roads.
The issue concerns all EU countries, which must now decide whether to act against apps warning drivers of mobile camera vans or radar checks. Traffic Police has repeatedly said it opposes giving drivers advance notice of policing, arguing this undermines prevention.
Traffic Department director Charis Evripidou recently objected to a bill proposal that would have notified drivers, through official announcements, of which roads (though not exact locations) would have mobile cameras for checks. The proposal was rejected. Authorities judged the measure amounted to tipping off drivers. Lawmakers did, however, approve fitting a beacon above the camera vans, so drivers can spot them from a distance and slow down.
The Court of Justice ruling changes this picture. It appears to give EU member states the power to take measures against apps or other tools that warn drivers of genuine road checks.
Waze and similar apps let drivers see on their phones where mobile cameras or Traffic Police checks are located, allowing them to slow down or avoid those points. The effectiveness of such apps has been debated before, but the ruling now leaves it to each country to decide what measures to take.
A person who has worked in road safety for years told Phileleftheros that such apps are seen by some as helping prevention, since drivers are forced to comply to avoid the consequences of being reported. Others argue that warning drivers only causes them to slow down at the specific point of the check before continuing to drive over the speed limit elsewhere.
The Ministry of Transport had initially proposed, in a draft bill, banning drivers from warning other road users by flashing their headlights, but this proposal was ultimately dropped.
Speaking on the issue yesterday, Tasos Asiikkis, sub-inspector at Traffic Police Department Headquarters, said Police does not agree with the use of apps that inform drivers of locations with speed cameras or mobile radars. He said such apps may lead some drivers to slow down only at points where they know there is a check, increasing violations elsewhere on the road network.
So far, Police has not been informed of the Court’s decision. Given its position against notifying drivers of check locations in advance, measures on driver-warning tools may be introduced in the near future.
