The discussion over increasing speed limits on Cyprus roads has been shot down by authorities before even getting off the ground, despite the island having one of the lowest speed limits in the EU.
Currently, the speed limit on the island’s highways is 100 km per hour, with authorities tolerating motorists hitting up to 120 km.
In other European countries, there are limits of up to 150 km, while in Germany, there are roads with no speed limits.
Cyprus’ traffic police have argued that speed limits correspond to local road conditions, and they will not be altered in the foreseeable future.
In comments to Phileleftheros daily, the deputy head of the Traffic Police, Charis Evripides, said there is no room for discussion on the matter, as EU member states with higher limits are looking to reduce them.
He argued the EU is looking to introduce a reduction in speed limits in a bid to bring down CO2 emissions.
“Our highways are among the safest in the Union, and this can be seen from the data.
“Every year, we have one or no fatalities on the highways.
“Even in the case of a fatality, speed does not seem to be to blame, but other factors,” said Evripides.
“That’s why I don’t think anything will be changing,” he added.
Regarding the secondary road network and the cities, Evripides noted that a relative reduction in the speed limit was made a few years ago to make roads safer.
“In inhabited areas in the cities, the speed limit is set at 50 km, and it is now the same everywhere, with the exception of roads recently upgraded granting priority to pedestrians, where the limit was lowered to 30 km”.
He added that with the introduction of legislation on electric scooters, local authorities would be able to reduce the speed limit from 50 km to 30 km, to accommodate alternative transport means.
The speed limit on Germany’s motorways is 150 km/h, while some do not have a limit in place.
In the Czech Republic, the speed limit is 150 km/h; in Bulgaria and Poland, it’s 140 km; and in countries like Austria, Croatia, France, Greece and Italy, the limit is 130 km per hour.
Portugal, Sweden, Finland and Belgium have set their speed limit for their highways to 120 km per hour.
As announced last week, the Transport Ministry will launch a new park-and-ride scheme on 4 September to reduce traffic jams at the entrance of the capital in the mornings.
People travelling to Nicosia for work will be able to park their car at the GSP stadium just before the entrance of the city and hop on a bus for the rest of their journey.
A new bus lane from the GSP stadium to the entrance of the city will be added to the road network to facilitate commuters choosing a greener ride through Nicosia.
