Continuing their efforts for preventing and reducing serious and fatal road traffic collisions, Police have carried out last week, between the dates 15 and 21 January, 2018 a pan Cyprian campaign of checks for combating the phenomena of driving with non-free hands and violations of traffic lights.

During the campaign, 517 persons were found driving with non-free hands, using their mobile telephone while driving their vehicle.

Moreover, 114 persons were found violating traffic lights.The above mentioned drivers were reported, with the total number of reports rising to 661.As acknowledged, driving with non-free hands, usually due to the use of mobile telephones, results in distracting the drivers’ attention.

On an international scale, driver’s attention being distracted constitutes one of the most important factors which contribute greatly to the increase of the probability of a road traffic collision happening. On a European scale, contemporary studies reveal that the distraction of drivers’ attention is the cause of road traffic collisions at a rate from 10% to 30% of all road traffic collisions.

At the same time, violations of traffic lights, constitute an immediate danger of serious and fatal road traffic collisions. Police are therefore concentrating their efforts at informing and raising awareness of the Public and at combating the aforementioned two traffic offences.