Two due in court after excessive speeding on highway

Two people are due to appear in court on Monday after driving at excessive speeds on the highway, police said on Sunday.

At 10.45 on Saturday night a police patrol on the Nicosia-Larnaca highway, near Kosi, clocled a car that was travelling at 180km/hr whereas the speed limit is 100.

The car was stopped and its driver, a 27-year-old woman from Nicosia was arrested.

She was taken to the Aradippou police station where she was charged in writing to appear at Larnaca District Court on Monday.

At around the same time, officers running traffic checks on the Larnaca-Nicosia highway near Lymbia recorded a car that was travelling at 189km/hr.

The car was pulled over and found to be being driven by a 39-year-old man from Nicosia, who was arrested.

He too was taken to the nearest police station, in Pera Chorio Nissou where he was charged in writing and released. He is expected to appear before Nicosia District Court on Monday.

As a result, the traffic police again issued a warning that high speed is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents as it reduces the time available to react, and increases the space needed for braking.

“Driving at high speed, and especially beyond the speed limit  is a critical factor in causing fatal collisions or collisions with serious injuries. It determines the severity of a collision and the likelihood of causing serious or even fatal injuries,” the police said.

It said speed checks are a key part of the road safety campaign, carried out to reduce the number of accidents on the road. This is helped, it said, by the swift imposition of justice.