in-cyprus 10 September 2020 - by Annie Charalambous
The Cyprus government’s goal is to achieve a reduction in the number of deaths from road collisions by at least 50% by 2030.
This is what Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yiannis Karousos said
after a meeting of the Road Safety Council which convened on Wednesday and adopted the new Strategic Plan for Road Safety 2021-2030.
The Secure System, the Minister said, is an EU approach for the next decade and consists of a road traffic system, road infrastructure, vehicles and road users and is implemented with policies and actions belonging to 5 main pillars.
These are effective road safety management, safe roads and mobility, safe vehicles, safe road users and effective post-collision response.
The goal, he went on to say, is to achieve a reduction of at least 50% in deaths from road collisions by 2030 and a 50% reduction in serious injuries.
Meanwhile, referring to statistical data that were presented at the meeting, the Minister said that according to the statistics, every death from a car accident costs about 3 million euros in the economy.
Last year, he said, 52 people lost their lives from road accidents and the cost for the economy was over 150 million euro.
On her part, Minister of Justice and Public Order Emily Yiolitis said the updated road safety strategic plan includes a number of actions which aim to reduce traffic accidents.
To that effect she referred to the inclusion of recommendations by police experts on road safety matters, noting that the plan’s implementation is expected to greatly improve road safety.
She also spoke of the need of coordination between relevant agencies in order for the plan to be implemented.
The police, Yiolitis noted, has a role in implementing a great number of actions and spoke of the need for planning and prioritising actions.
The Ministry has already asked police to double narco-tests, she said, adding that at the same time a letter has already been sent to the Union of Municipalities and the Ministry has taken the initiative of coordinating police and municipalities to achieve a better cooperation of traffic officers.