Cyprus is intensifying efforts to reduce road deaths among young people, with Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades warning on Thursday that fatalities involving inexperienced drivers and motorcyclists remain a major public safety concern.

Speaking at an international road safety conference in Aglandjia organised with the European Transport Safety Council, Vafeades said young people under the age of 24 account for more than a quarter of all road deaths in Cyprus.

“Every year in Cyprus, approximately 50 people lose their lives on our roads, with hundreds more seriously injured,” he said. “These losses are entirely preventable.”

The minister said motorcyclists represent nearly 30 per cent of all fatalities, identifying excessive speed, impairment due to drugs and alcohol and driver distraction as the principal causes.

Vafeades outlined a series of measures being promoted through the government’s road safety ‘Strategic Action Plan’ in operation until 2030, which contains 28 policy initiatives and 158 individual measures aligned with EU directives to halve road deaths by the end of the decade.

Among the proposals are stricter probationary licences for inexperienced drivers, tougher penalties for traffic offences and expanded road safety education programmes targeting students and military personnel.

“We are expanding these modules to also target phone use while driving, a critical danger for young people,” he said.

The government is also promoting lower inner city speed limits, including wider implementation of 30 kilometre per hour zones aimed at protecting pedestrians and cyclists.

Attention is also being directed towards motorcycle safety after a rise in rider fatalities this year.

Earlier this week, Vafeades confirmed that seven of the 15 people killed on Cyprus roads so far in 2026 were motorcyclists.

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“Four were not wearing helmets, while in two other cases helmets were found beside the victims,” he said on Tuesday following a meeting of the Road Safety Council. “This is a huge cause for concern.”

Authorities are preparing to expand subsidies for protective motorcycle equipment and introduce stricter inspections of maintenance standards through private vehicle testing centres.

The minister also stressed the importance of changing public attitudes towards road behaviour.

 “Let us choose attentiveness over distraction, prudence over speed, and life over glancing at a phone screen”, he remarked.

Campaigns in both Greek and English are expected to be launched as authorities seek to reach foreign riders and younger road users across Cyprus.