The practice is particularly serious in shopping areas and near supermarkets, and authorities believe the clampdown will “teach people a lesson”.

Last weekend alone, there were 68 reported cases, many of them in large fee-charging parking areas where people opt to use the disabled parking rather than the hundreds of freely available places only a few metres away.

“This is our mentality. We can’t walk a few metres to where we want. We need to be right outside the place we want to go to,” head of traffic Michalis Katsounotos said.

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The old style licences will be valid until they expire or January 19th 2033 at the latest as laid down in the EU directive.

Those who wish to exchange their old licence to the new type may do so for a fee of €40.

The new style licences should have been issued from the 19th January 2013. Cyprus has recently been informed again that they must comply.

Full information can be found at the  CyprusDriving website.

Penalties will have to be paid from the 9th September which is the date that enforcement will begin.

Information on how to renew road tax and penalties can be found at this link.

These updated rules on driving licences have introduced among others new driving licence categories, a harmonised validity of the driving licence document and established a network to exchange driving licence information (RESPER). These new rules will help reduce the possibility of fraud, guarantee the freedom of movement for EU drivers and reinforce safety on European roads.

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About 6.45pm on Theodoros Kikas Street in Emba village  the rider, 27, old lost control of a large motorcyle resulting in a crash in which he and his 23-year-old passenger hit the road.

The riider sustained multiple head injuries and the passenger was slightly injured.

The aim of the draft law is the reduction of road accidents amongst people under 25.

The bill will affect young drivers, motorcyclists and the drivers of trucks, buses, taxis and vehicles carrying heavy or dangerous loads.

The draft law had already been approved by the House Communications Committee.

The pair was arrested after the father claimed that he and not his 17-year-old son was driving at the time. The teen and a 19-year-old male passenger, had abandoned the scene after the accident, on foot. They retuned some time later with the driver’s father, the owner of the car.

The accident happened at around 9.30pm on Monday on Kantaras Avenue in Kaimakli, Nicosia towards the Bata roundabout. The underage driver had hit the motorcyclist, Panayiotis Eleftheriades, also from Kaimakli, while attempting to make a right turn, according to police.

Eleftheriades was thrown from his motorcycle and hit the pavement, sustaining fatal injuries. He was later pronounced dead on arrival at Nicosia General Hospital.

The two teenagers in the car had fled the scene and returned a short time later with the driver’s father who told police he had been driving. But during questioning by officers the boy admitted he was the driver. He and his father were subsequently arrested.

Cyprus Mail

Responding to a question posed by the Greens MP Yiorgos Perdikis, Demetriades said the ministry was forced to shut the service down after people anonymously made accusations that proved to be false.

“People who just wanted to get back at others called the line and made false accusations, just to make them go through the trouble of having their car checked,” the minister said, adding that the ministry is currently considering bringing the line back but with a few modifications.

The 24-hour line was set up in April 2008 with the goal of allowing people to anonymously alert authorities on vehicles that posed a safety hazard.

Cyprus Mail

According to the police report, two of the drivers are 19 years old and were arrested on the Limassol-Nicosia road at a quarter past midnight. One of them was speeding at 192 kph while the other was speeding at 189 kph. The speed limit on the highway is 100 kph.

The other two were 25 years old and were arrested in the Aradippou area in Larnaca. One of them was going 133 kph on a 65 kph zone while the other was caught speeding in the same zone at 134 kph.

The four drivers were taken to the nearest police station were they were charged in writing and released, to be called back at a later date.

According to the police report, a total of 88 drivers were reported, 64 of them for breaking the speed limit.

Cyprus Mail