14-year-old caught taking pal, mother for a drive

A 14-year-old youth was caught behind the wheel with another teen as a passenger and his mother in the back seat, police said on Wednesday.

He was one of 15 individuals booked for driving without a licence and insurance during checks carried out by Limassol traffic police on Tuesday.

Police said that 15 motorbikes and one car were confiscated pending police inquiries into traffic offences and illegal changes to vehicles. Overall, police booked 139 traffic offences.

Police said the teen caught driving without a licence was stopped at 6.50 pm on Tuesday. He, his 14-year-old co-driver and his mother were taken to the police station. His mother faces additional charges for allowing her son to drive without a licence or insurance, police said.

In another case, a 17-year-old spotted driving a moped in Ayios Nicolaos area at 1.00 am abandoned the moped on seeing the police officers. Police found a small nylon bag with 16 grams of cannabis on the bike. He and his father were called the Limassol anti-narcotics police offices for questioning and released. The youth is a holder of a learner’s licence.

In addition, police also booked two drivers caught driving with an expired licence.

Moreover, 51 drivers were booked for speeding, four for driving under the influence of alcohol and six for driving vehicles without an exhaust muffler. Other offences booked include a biker caught not wearing a helmet, drivers and passengers who were not wearing their seatbelts, using a telephone while driving and violating traffic signs.

“Yesterday’s traffic checks were carried out within the framework of actions to prevent serious and fatal road collisions and to address deviancy and noise pollution created by vehicles which have been converted,” police concluded.