SPEED - PROPOSED POLICE TOLERANCE RATE BE REDUCED IN SOME CASES

 Filenews 18 September 2020  - Michalis Hatzivasilis

The police tolerance rate for violating the speed limit in cities is halved in an effort to reduce serious and fatal accidents.

A study prepared by the Traffic Department and to be presented next week to the Road Safety Council recommends a 50% reduction in the tolerance level shown by the Police during speed control. Today this limit is 20% above the speed limit on both urban and long-city roads. That is why complaints by drivers of a violation of the speed limit on motorways start after 120 km, regardless of whether the out-of-court is issued by calculating the normal limit of 100 km/h.

According to "F" information, the tolerance shown by the Police on motorways will most likely remain at the same level as today, since there is no serious problem with fatal collisions on major roads. The problem focuses mainly on city streets, as Cyprus has one of the highest death rates in traffic collisions within residential areas in the European Union. The death rate in cities in Cyprus reaches about 70%, while in other European countries the death rate reaches 35%.

Today, if someone violates the 50km limit in the cities, it is reported when the radar shows 70 km or more. The new arrangements will be denounced when he is caught running 60 km or more. If the limit is 65 km, complaints will start at 75 km instead of the 82 currently in force.

It is noted that the tolerance rate was given after the reliability of the radars was challenged in court years ago, since there was an international assumption of the possibility of a 2-3 km error. However, the new radar systems have improved and there is no question of their reliability. It is also said that almost all the Polices of European countries show tolerance so that complaints are not disputed, but Cyprus has one of the highest rates in Europe.

At the same time, with the installation in 2021 of fixed cameras for traffic control, a tolerance rate will be given much lower than for radar-controlled drivers. In particular, consideration is being given to giving only 5% leeway to exceeding the limit in cities and then photographing offenders. This is because these are fixed cameras whose location the drivers will know in advance.