Of Nektaria Hadjichristodoulou
Significant problems are created daily by traffic accidents on the main roads and boulevards. Citizens who are involved, whether they manage it civilly or quarrel, actually cause inconvenience to themselves and other drivers due to the traffic congestion caused by the immobilization of their vehicles, often for no apparent reason.
But in order to find a solution, it is important to find out what is the main problem. Is it the mentality of the Cypriot citizens? Are the existing laws? Are they the terms of insurance companies? All this together or something else?
A sense of optimism, however, is created by the reduced rates of road accidents in the last 5 years. And this can be accurately determined if we consider that in 2017 there were 209 minor accidents with 269 injuries and in 2021 just 75 minor accidents and 96 injuries. The numbers, yes, are steadily decreasing from 2018 and at first glance give the impression that the problem of accidents is starting to become more manageable, but still & # 8217; all this tension remains. With it comes the suffering. We spoke with people who were involved, but also with the insurance industry to find the explanations. The “tribes” of Cypriots that emerge through the incidents are of great interest and bring back the debate about the wrongs and upheavals of the mentality of all of us.
Sotiris 22 years old: Cause, speed
“The speed was to blame for the car accident I caused. “I was in a hurry to go to work, I was late.” He was in Engomi before the cameras were installed, which were activated with fines in January 2022. “I was running, I hit the vehicle of an elderly couple from behind, they stopped when the indicator was still in orange, I thought they would not stop. I immediately got out of the car, I saw that both cars were not damaged, neither I nor the others were injured “. As he mentioned in “P”, the couple was very provocative towards him, “your mind was shouting at me loudly, where is your head?”, While the driver's wife claimed that her neck was hurting. “I, however, saw it just fine, the other cars were honking, we stopped the traffic, I left because I was in a hurry and I really thought that they did not get anything. They, probably, are still in Jiame.”
In difficult times they accept
According to Ms. Giota Kaplani from Hydra Insurance, there are often cases of minor damage in road accidents for & # 8217; this and insurance companies know exactly what to do, as they know about one about the amounts they will be asked to pay by litigation. However, some claims cannot be substantiated and the insurance pays for the medical expenses and whatever else is needed to avoid friction. “In any case of a minor accident that the person has to go to the doctor because he feels pain or seems to have suffered a minor injury, his medical expenses and the compensation from the damage are paid by the insurance of the one responsible”, he explains and adds: “To pay The person must have safety certificates from a doctor. The neck is something that is not proven, the person gets sick leave from the doctor and the insurance compensates for it “. >
“The other car hit me from behind when I was at the stop of the roundabout, I instinctively pulled the parking brake and put the car aside so that it is not completely in the middle of the road. I was cool. The first thing I did was write down his registration numbers because he could leave. My car had abrasions on the rear bumper, hers did not suffer anything. He did not admit to causing damage to my car. He went down, wiped the spot, told me he had nothing, I started to get very angry and shout, but how come nothing, my friend, he was two meters ahead of my car “. Eventually, as he mentioned, he called the security and when the security came, it was now clear who was to blame.
They can not move
The biggest problem of traffic jams is created by the accidents at the roundabouts, but according to Mr. Giannos Charilaou, insurer at Universal Life, the driver can not move the car after an accident. As a result, delays and inconvenience can not be avoided. “There are risks involved in the driver moving the car before roadside assistance arrives. When he arrives, the vehicle will be photographed and they will take a deposit from drivers, they will sign the deposits and depending on the data, the responsibilities of each one will be charged “. This was also confirmed by Mrs. Kaplani. “Drivers can not move their car until the claims department arrives, which is responsible for taking photos and deposits from drivers,” he explains, adding that “the first deposits are almost always wrong, because citizens are in shock.” , in confusion for this it is necessary to take photos “. He stressed, at the same time, that there is now a need for training of both new and old drivers. “Every new driver should not just look at practical things, such as how to hold the steering wheel, he learns this over time. We need knowledge about the roads, about when we are responsible for an accident. The old drivers have to go through the same process, since the roads have changed a lot in recent years “.
Marios, 28 years old: Witness from nowhere
< p>“An elderly woman hit me on a main boulevard. The mirror hit me and the door was scratched. Her own car had already been hit from previous times and I could not distinguish which ones were caused this time. There was a lot of tension, because while he hit me he did not admit it. In addition, before the security arrived at the scene, her husband came, who was not in the car before and claimed that he was a witness and that I hit her car “. According to her, her husband started shouting and Marios lost his temper: “Aren't you ashamed of people so old to walk around the world?”. He did not find his right. “Both insurance companies paid the damages, since there were no cameras, not even a witness who was really at the scene and said who was to blame.”
According to Mr. Charilaou, if you are lucky, there are solutions to obtain proof of the accident. “Many times in traffic lights, when citizens can not agree on who is to blame, cameras from nearby stores solve the problem,” he said, adding, however, that it is very time consuming because intervention of the Police “.
We do not know where and how we park. We close boulevards for a scratch on our cars. Modified cars and motorcycles with exhausts removed, do not let us sleep at night. We do not even know what the hours of common silence are, with the result that we bother each other without missing the unnecessary tensions. From the small and largely indifferent to many of our fellow citizens, however, is judged the level of culture of our country and the degree of empathy we have. It's time to change.
How much time does security take?
Regarding the time it takes the insurance companies to reach the scene of the accident, citizens answer that it ranges from 15 minutes to one hour, the most delayed. According to Mr. Charilaou, the procedure followed after an accident has been modified: “All insurance is now connected to roadside assistance, the insurer can no longer go to the first point, but must then go through roadside assistance . Roadside assistance now plays a key role. Takes photos and takes deposits. “How fast they go depends on the accidents that will happen at that particular time, where each official is, in which area and how close he is to the place of the accident”. In general, as Mr. Charilaou pointed out, all drivers should have & # 8217; Considering that it is a clear offense when one car hits the other from behind. “The back is always the responsibility.” While, “in the lights, when there is no testimony, the responsibility is placed on both”.
“Speed is to blame”
The main cause for minor traffic accidents is the speed, according to Ms. Anagiotou, senior executive engineer of the Department of Public Works and head of the Sustainable Mobility Division. Mr. Charilaou, an insurer at Universal life, agrees with this statement and adds that “we must be careful”.
The procedure changes, who disagrees
As Ms. Fotini Tsiridou, a member of the parliamentary Transport Committee, told “P”, the committee has been in discussion for two months with the insurance companies, the Road Transport Department, but also the competent ministry to change the existing policy. after a minor accident, so that “the people involved in a minor accident should not remain in the same place, closing the roads until the insurance arrives”. The new plan, he said, is already being implemented in many EU countries and the UK, and under it drivers do not have to wait for insurance companies or roadside assistance to move their cars or leave the area altogether. accident. What Mrs. Tsiridou herself suggested to the Transport Committee is that the insurance companies equip the cars with a box that will have a camera inside with which the driver can take photos and a form that he can fill in with all the details. , the exact time, place and damage in order to leave the spot immediately. “As for someone who states false information, the penalties should be dissuasive.” Par & # 8217; All this, the MP states that the insurance companies are not in line with this change and explains: “The insurance companies were very worried that they would not be able to trust the information given to them by their clients and this frightens them very much”. We, as the Commission, adds, said that the way of approaching the citizens is wrong and that we should change the culture instead of not trusting the Cypriot guide and thinking that he will make fun of us. In addition, he pointed out that “the legislature that we are legislates” and we will listen to the views and fears that exist, “but in the end we will legislate”, as, “it is unacceptable for traffic to be under these conditions because they are afraid the insurance & # 8211; although we understand their fears and they are recorded “. Finally, Ms. Tsiridou said she was optimistic about & # 8217; this new step and sure that with the necessary cooperation the fears of the companies will be zeroed. The issue, he said, is advancing in Parliament. “I asked him to come to Parliament again next week.”
The condition of the roads
Regarding reports from insurance companies about poor road conditions, faded lines and potholes as causes of accidents, Ms. Tsiridou replied that the quality of roads is directly related to safety, “but we have seen many improvement projects in cities in recent years. and we are glad that despite the economic crisis after the pandemic, no construction project has remained stagnant or even canceled “. He also referred to the smart lights of Limassol which replace the traffic warden and operate only at peak hours and estimated that “traffic on the roads will be improved”. It is, said the MP, something that has been tried and is already working, but he admitted that although they have a lot, even more needs to be done. Something that, as he explained, is a priority for the Parliament.
Drones away
Asked if drones can be used to help with problems on the roads, Ms. Tsiridou said that surely in the coming years the technology will be used in every possible way for safety, but also to save time. It will certainly help, he stressed, but that does not mean that it can be applied easily and immediately, and in the meantime another adjustment needs to be made. According to the MP, especially in cities, one way to reduce traffic congestion is not for every citizen to use his car, but to find alternative ways of traffic. “This will take some time, but at some point it will be a one-way street and the use of scooters, protective equipment and bicycles is already applied in many European countries,” he said.
Need for alternatives b>
These alternative modes of transport are included in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SVAC). The SVAK for Larnaca and Limassol and the implementation of the priority projects under the responsibility of the Department of Public Works have secured funding under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, explained to “P” Mrs. Anagiotou, senior executive engineer of the Department of Public Works of the Sustainable Mobility Sector. While the integrated mobility plan of Nicosia (OSKL) has ended and now the study of SVAK Nicosia is being prepared. Regarding the province of Famagusta, the study has already started and for the province of Paphos the process is at the auction stage. “The aim of the plans,” he explained, “is to give the citizen choices about the ways of his movement and not to be limited only to the car. We are at a very demanding stage where we are rehabilitating the road network in order to create space for public transport, bicycle and pedestrian. This is done with a redistribution of the available width of the streets for use by all users “. According to Ms. Anagiotou, through these actions and measures, “we are building a more human-centered city, more human-friendly and more resilient and greener. SVAKs are strategic plans, with various implementing bodies and are prepared by interdisciplinary teams through participatory processes with the citizens “.
The issue of road accidents remains a major problem that afflicts citizens on a daily basis and there are still shortcomings, despite the optimism that the commitments and proposals from the state certainly create. As for the traffic congestion created by the stopped vehicles, the citizens have a mitigation as it is required by the current law to stay in the area until the necessary procedures are done. For the “I'm not responsible, the other one hit me” mentality, the solution is to readjust the traffic code and incorporate theoretical rules into the logic, “when am I to blame for the collision”. All of this, however, needs to be realized beyond the attention that each and every one of us is called to show.
The cameras are in a pilot stage
According to Mr. Michalis Michael, Assistant Director of Traffic Operations, the traffic light cameras are still in a pilot stage. “In order for the stage to move forward, the existing problems must be solved, and the technocrats and experts in collaboration with the contractor company hold daily meetings and process the data.” Mr. Michael adds that some time was given for the end of the pilot stage, on 30/6/2022, but, as he explains, another issue may arise at any time and a new extension may be given. “So, I can not say with certainty that 1/7 the first phase begins”, he states characteristically. As he stated in “P”, the Police has no responsibility to investigate issues related to traffic accidents and responds only if a serious traffic jam occurs. “He will go,” he explains, a police officer on duty to help smoothly regulate traffic, bypass the scene of the accident and lead the citizens to another road. “
Cypriots
“It is not only the Cypriots, anyone who feels wronged is rising in intensity”, said to “P” Mrs. Yvonne Konstantinou, clinical psychologist, when asked if the Cypriots have the mentality of quarrel or if they are ambitious. As he mentioned, the citizens have more nerves after the confinement. Man, he explains, experienced it as a huge constraint. When confined it is like an animal that you lock in a cage, does not go to work, out with friends, loses sexuality for a long time and as a result, “relaxes where it can”. He clarifies that there is no excuse for provocative behavior on the streets, but understanding is required. “I can not,” says Ms. Konstantinou, “justify, but understand this provocative behavior of the fight, but there is another way for the citizen to get what he wants without tensions.”
