More than 615,776 traffic tickets have been issued through Cyprus’s camera system as of December 15, 2023, with nearly half of the offenders remaining unidentified for ticket serving purposes, officials said.
The photo enforcement system, which began operating on January 1, 2022, now includes over 100 fixed and mobile cameras across Cyprus. While the first two years saw an unprecedented decrease in road fatalities, 2023 recorded a significant increase, partly attributed to driver complacency and parliamentary amendments challenging the fining system.
According to latest data, 257,906 tickets were registered in 2023 up to December 15, with 143,447 yet to be served. Of those served, 96,968 have been paid, while 17,491 remain outstanding.
The first two years of operation saw 357,870 violations resulting in 279,751 tickets, with 233,572 paid and 42,179 unpaid cases heading to court. Officials estimate that over 250,000 tickets remain “orphaned”, with violators either refusing to accept notifications or remaining unlocated.
To address unserved tickets, traffic police are developing a “photoradar list” for implementation at airports, ports, and checkpoints by early 2025. They are also launching an electronic verification system allowing drivers to check for outstanding tickets online.
The system has shown some success in changing driver behaviour, with fixed cameras recording a drop from 800 quarterly violations initially to about 200 currently. However, mobile camera violations have increased in 2023.
Of the 257,906 violations recorded in 2024, 166,809 were for speeding, 58,551 for running red lights, and 32,545 for crossing white lines at traffic signals.
Since its inception, the initiative has generated over €10 million in revenue, with collections reaching €9,329,369 from January 2022 to March 2024.
Read more:
