Cyprus is set to enhance its traffic enforcement systems with two new lists aimed at improving the management of traffic violations captured by speed cameras.
The first list, known as the “photoradar list,” will track individuals who have been notified of traffic fines via mail but have not collected their citations. The second list will include Turkish Cypriot vehicles flagged by the photo-enforcement system but which are not registered in the free areas of Cyprus.
Harıs Evripıdou, Assistant Head of the Traffic Department at the Police Headquarters and responsible for the photo-enforcement system, stated that the photoradar list is progressing. This list will consolidate data on individuals who, despite receiving notification of their fines, fail to collect them.
The second list will involve approximately 20,000 vehicle numbers belonging to Turkish Cypriots. This list will be distributed to checkpoints and airports to ensure that individuals entering the free areas are checked for outstanding fines. Specific police officers will be stationed at these checkpoints to carry out this task.
Evripıdou explained that once approved, the systems will be integrated at airports and ports. This will allow for real-time notifications if individuals have pending fines when they attempt to travel. At check-in points where passengers present their IDs or passports, notifications about pending fines will be displayed, requiring them to settle their fines before departure.
The implementation of this system is awaiting approval from the Central Committee on Changes and Claims, part of the Republic’s Treasury. The aim is to assess the final costs for its implementation. Despite the intention to deploy the system before the summer season, it remains pending approval.
Additionally, the police have decided to take a more active role in the delivery of undelivered fines to reduce the backlog. If a recipient does not collect their fine from the post office, the system management company will make up to two attempts to deliver it. If these attempts fail, the police will intervene. Efforts will be intensified to locate and deliver fines to those who refuse to accept them.
The American company managing the system has also decided to increase the number of process servers to enhance the delivery of fines. Other solutions are being explored to reduce the volume of undelivered fines.
Furthermore, it has been decided that notifications regarding the true owner of a vehicle caught by cameras will now be processed electronically. This change aims to streamline the process, which previously required vehicle owners to manually submit forms to update the system about the actual driver.
Currently, 1,700 drivers are cited daily by 107 fixed and mobile cameras. If this trend continues, over 600,000 citations are expected in a year, creating a significant workload for processing these fines.
