An 18-year-old male was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning after being clocked driving at 195 kilometres per hour up the motorway towards Nicosia near Latsia.

He was pulled over and arrested, and signed a document guaranteeing that he would appear in court on Tuesday, before being released.

In light of the incident, and given the heightened number of fatal traffic collisions which have occurred in recent days, the police issued a reminder that human error is the main factor in causing serious and fatal road accidents.

“We once again appeal to drivers to take the utmost care while driving and to conscientiously comply with road traffic rules to avoid the loss of life. We appeal to everyone to assist in our effort so that we do not mourn any more victims on the tarmac,” the police said.

They added that they will take “additional safety measures” over the weekend, including a “visible presence on the road network” and stationing police officers at points where increased traffic is expected.

In addition, they said, they will carry out increased speed checks and increased checks on drivers and vehicles to ensure that seatbelts and helmets are being worn and that drivers are not using mobile phones while driving.

The police’s words come after four fatal crashes took place in the space of 48 hours earlier this week, with 11 people having died on Cyprus’ roads since the beginning of the year.