TOM ignored nearly 5,000 recall alerts, inquiry told

The Consumer Protection Service forwarded 4,966 Rapex notifications concerning vehicle recalls to the Road Transport Department (TOM) between 2011 and 2025, but has yet to receive a single response, the service’s director Constantinos Karagiorgis told an inquiry commission on Friday.

Testifying before the three-member commission investigating recall procedures – especially those related to faulty Takata airbags – Karagiorgis explained that the European Rapex system serves as a rapid alert platform for dangerous products across the EU.

The first notification regarding Takata airbags was submitted on April 17, 2013, by Portugal. Since then, 73 related alerts have been added, he said.

Karagiorgis stressed that all such alerts were forwarded to TOM, but the department failed to react or provide any feedback.

Another European system – Safety Business Gateway – allows manufacturers, representatives, importers and distributors to inform the authorities on dangerous products.

Karagiorgis said 156 products had been added from 2022 till 2024, most of which concerned TOM.

As for the Takata airbags specifically, there were up to 25 notifications, but again, TOM issued no response, he added.

Karagiorgis noted that the Consumer Protection Service has no authority to impose sanctions or intervene directly. Its role is limited to information dissemination.

Also testifying on Friday, former TOM director Yiannis Nicolaides claimed the department never received any formal notification about the risk posed by Takata airbags.

Nicolaides, who served as TOM director from December 15, 2020, to June 23, 2022, and then as deputy permanent secretary at the transport ministry until June 30, 2023, said the airbag issue was handled as part of the general recall process. It was not treated as a separate road safety matter and was therefore omitted from the 2021–2030 road safety strategic plan.

“It was never considered a serious enough risk to warrant additional measures,” he said.

According to Nicolaides, responsibility for handling recalls rests primarily with the manufacturer and their representatives in Cyprus. National-level coordination is the duty of the competent authority.

He said TOM took a supportive role, forwarding recall information to vehicle representatives and launching software that allowed importers to upload data. TOM also introduced technical measures such as rescinding MOT certificates for vehicles with unresolved recall issues, although this was not mandated by law.

Nicolaides said these actions began under his leadership at TOM, with the software completed during his tenure at the ministry. During the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the department’s priorities shifted toward urgent matters such as the repatriation of Cypriots, he said.

Asked whether the level of risk posed by Takata airbags was ever formally assessed, Nicolaides said TOM received no such determination from the police or any other agency. European legislation requires an official designation of danger before notifying the authority that issued the vehicle’s type approval or conformity certificate for further action, he added.

Regarding oversight, Nicolaides explained that up until 2009, the transport ministry was responsible for type approvals. That responsibility was then transferred to TOM, although the ministry did not directly supervise TOM in this area.

He said that while the ministry dedicated some time to oversight, it was neither specialised nor focused on type approvals. Permanent secretaries, he noted, considered the subject too technical or obscure to intervene meaningfully.

Despite TOM’s repeated requests, no resources were allocated for the development of necessary structures to properly implement the relevant legislation, he said.

TOM lacked the required staff to effectively manage type approvals, while in other high-profile cases, the ministry redirected 24 TOM employees to form a special team, further weakening the department.

Regarding communication with the manufacturers and dealerships in Cyprus, Nicolaides said TOM had provided all necessary information for registered vehicles and that there were cases, especially in 2020 and 2021, when MOTs were blocked at the request of the representatives.

Asked about letter sent to TOM by civilians in 2015 and 2016 warning of the danger from the faulty airbags, Nicolaides said the department asked if there had been recalls, however he could not recall the reply they received.

He added that independent of the Takata case, TOM would act on any identified road safety issue and had integrated various safety actions into its strategic planning.

Nicolaides said the number of road fatalities in Cyprus dropped significantly during his tenure, but acknowledged that the problem persisted.

He conceded that although TOM’s actions were adequate, they were not sufficient to fully resolve the issue.

The inquiry commission also heard testimonies from former acting permanent secretary Efstathios Hamboullas and former permanent secretaries Makis Constantinides and Panicos Michaelides.

Hamboullas, who held the post for seven months in 2004 while also heading the Public Works Department, said he was involved in legislation, including on type approvals, but had no knowledge of the faulty airbags issue.

Constantinides, who served from December 2004 to June 2011, said the transport ministry was responsible for TOM until 2009, after which responsibility was transferred to the department. He did not recall any authority for rescinding MOTs, nor any issues with airbags during his term.

Michaelides, who served as acting permanent secretary from June 2011 to April 2012 and as permanent secretary until his retirement in 2019, also said he had no knowledge of the Takata issue during his tenure.

Asked about a 2017 letter regarding an airbag-related accident, he said he did not recall receiving it and after checking, found no record of it.

He also said no information about faulty airbags had reached him while he was in office.

He did say, however, that all services should inform their ministries, even if the services were considered to be the competent authorities.

Asked if TOM was responsible for identifying the danger, Michaelides said it was.

Pavros Yiavris, deputy director of the Electromechanical Services since December 13, 2024, and a member of the department since 2000, was questioned about the 2017 fatal accident and the serious injury of Alexandros Loungou.

He said the service inspected the vehicle and three others – two fatal accidents and a recent case within the British Bases – and submitted all reports to the investigators who had requested them.

Asked if the services should have informed the ministry or TOM regarding the massive recalls of faulty airbags worldwide, Yiavris said it was the responsibility of the police to relay findings from the reports to relevant authorities, including the Road Safety Council, which TOM is part of.

The next inquiry session will hear from former transport ministers, as well as the current minister, Alexis Vafeades.

Commission chairman Michalakis Christodoulou said the final two sessions – possibly the last – will be held on May 26 and 28. One witness has requested to testify behind closed doors due to the sensitive nature of their testimony, which relates to victims and their families.