Traffic accidents have claimed the lives of 21 people in Cyprus in the first five months of 2018, four more than in the same period last year.
Motorcyclists are the most vulnerable group, with three young bikers having lost their life on the road in just the last few days.
Deputy traffic chief at police headquarters Harris Evripidou expressed concern. He said that despite the measures taken and a number of road safety campaigns, drivers were continuing to drive without due care, leading to the loss of life — theirs, or someone else’s. He urged all road users to be careful, adding that the results of road safety campaigns, particularly those aimed at young drivers were not encouraging. Campaigns targeting pupils are expected to deliver longer term results. What can operate as a deterrent to careless driving is the installation of traffic cameras, but this measure may not be introduced this year.
Overall, some 600 people have died on the roads in the past 10 years, 245 of them in the period 2013 to 2017 alone.
Figures show 44 road fatalities in 2013, 45 in 2015 and 46 in 2016. Last year, there were 53 road deaths. About 30% of traffic accidents are due to drunken driving, 19% to careless driving, 13% to speeding, 8% to not staying on the left hand side of the road, 5% to carelessness by pedestrians, 4.5% to turning right without due care, 4.7% for not giving way to other vehicles, 4.1% to drugs and 3.2% to ignoring traffic signals.
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