Road cameras in Cyprus: over 700,000 fines, half remain unpaid

During the first four years of operation of the road camera system in Cyprus, more than 700,000 violations were recorded; however, only about half of the fines have been paid.

The highest number of violations occurred last year — around 270,000. This indicates that, despite the cameras, drivers have not become noticeably more disciplined.

A particular headache for the authorities has been fines issued to Turkish Cypriots. Many of them either do not receive notifications or deliberately do not pay the fines. The police are already working on implementing software that will allow checks for unpaid fines at crossing points.

In addition, a draft law is being prepared that should provide the state with new tools to recover unpaid fines.

Transport Minister Alexis Vafeadis noted that the problem is not always unwillingness to pay:

“In many cases, the fines simply do not reach people. That is precisely why we have so many unpaid violations.”

The authorities are also considering the installation of cameras with artificial intelligence. This issue is planned to be discussed at a meeting of the Road Safety Council by the end of the month — with the participation of the police and technical services. It is expected that best practices from other countries will be examined.

Today, around 366,000 fines remain unpaid — because offenders could not be located, notifications were not delivered, or fines were received but ignored. This, according to the authorities, creates a system of inequality:

some drivers pay conscientiously, while others deliberately evade payment.