In an attempt to stem the bloodshed on the roads, the government reiterated on Thursday that it is aiming to halve road fatalities by 2030.
“We aim to cut the number of people who lose their lives on the street by 50% by 2030,” said the Minister of Transport Vassiliki Anastasiadou today after a meeting of the Road Safety Council.
The meeting first reviewed progress in the implementation of the 2010-2020 road safety plan.
The minister said that the target was to cut road deaths from 60 recorded in 2010 to 30.
“This may not yet have been achieved since in recent years the average has been at around 50 deaths a year. However, the number of serious injuries — which are about 10 times those of fatalities — has fallen by 40.6% in 2018 compared to the previous year,” the minister said.
“In order to do so we are planning to introduce traffic cameras to increase the number of police officers on the streets and we are also considering raising the penalties for serious traffic offences.”
“The Council is also working on the creation of a school where systematic traffic offenders will be able to rehabilitate themselves. Finally, we are introducing traffic education in schools so young people can gain road awareness through workshops, competitions and manuals.”
The main topic of discussion was an update of the Road Safety plan implemented in 2012 and valid until 2020, with the aim of setting the best course of action for the 2021-2030 plan.
The Minister of Justice, George Savvides, also attended the meeting.
