Traffic Police will install Cyprus’s first two AI-powered fixed cameras on Griva Digeni Avenue in Nicosia, replacing older cameras that are currently out of service.
The managing company is now completing the necessary work to bring the new cameras into operation, according to Traffic Police.
Traffic Police told Phileleftheros the two cameras will be placed in the Engomi area, covering traffic in both directions, at the site of the existing cameras. Using artificial intelligence, they will record only one offence: using a mobile phone while driving.
The cameras will capture footage of passing drivers, and an algorithm will determine whether a driver’s hands are free on the steering wheel. When the system identifies that a driver was holding a phone while driving, an officer will review the footage, and a fine will be issued if a violation is confirmed.
Traffic Police will run the measure as a pilot in the first phase before extending it to other locations in cities, where it will record specific offences only.
Mobile phone use and driver distraction are currently the leading cause of death on Cyprus roads, according to Traffic Police. Statistics show that distraction, attributed to phone use, accounts for half of all road deaths.
Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades admitted last week that a significant number of drivers still watch TikTok videos while driving, putting their own lives and the safety of other road users at serious risk.
Vafeades announced that the transport ministry is pushing forward with the installation of new AI-powered fixed cameras on roads to identify drivers using mobile phones while driving. He said the system will initially be installed on a pilot basis, with its wider rollout to be assessed depending on results.
In a separate effort to reduce road deaths, instructions have been given for mobile cameras to spend more time in cities rather than on motorways, since most deaths from road collisions occur within urban areas.
Phileleftheros has also previously reported that the installation of fixed cameras on motorways is being studied. These would record vehicle speed at the start and end of a route, and drivers found to have travelled faster than the average speed would be reported.
Meanwhile, police continue to serve fines from the photo-enforcement system that the managing company has previously attempted and failed to deliver. These fines are served at checkpoints and police stations, and will soon also be served to any driver found on the road with an outstanding, unclaimed fine.
Of the 360,000 fines currently outstanding, more than 50,000 relate to the cameras’ first year of operation, with offending drivers either not identified or deliberately avoiding collection, making it impossible to serve them.
The issue is now being addressed through service at crossing points to and from the occupied areas, among other methods, while a bill is being advanced to notify drivers of outstanding fines by SMS or email.
