Govt to install cameras to catch overweight lorries

The government is to install cameras to catch overweight lorries, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Monday.

Speaking to news website Reporter, he explained that spot weighing equipment has already been installed under some parts of Cyprus’ motorway network, which will be fully operational with the addition of “some machines”.

Once they are up and running, he said, the government will then install cameras to photograph and record vehicles which were found to be overweight by the sensors.

He said overweight lorries present a “huge danger” to other road users, and that despite the fact regular checks are carried out to determine lorries’ roadworthiness, “it has become clear that it is not enough to prevent the dangerous phenomenon of reckless driving.”

Therefore, he said, “it has been decided recently that more drastic measures will be taken, and they will have better results”.

He said one option on the table would be to “prohibit the passage of certain vehicles from certain roads at certain times”, but on this, he said, “the only thing certain is that it would not help the economy, and for this reason, it will only be used as a last result.”

He added that for the same reason, the government has no plans to implement charges for driving into urban centres.

However, the installation of cameras to catch overweight lorries is something he believes will help Cyprus’ road network, though it will require new legislation, and the purchasing of specific equipment.

“We are moving in this direction as we believe that this, once and for all, will bring to an end the circulation of all lorries which travel on our motorways and are overweight,” he said.

He then went on to explain the problems caused by overweight lorries, saying Cyprus’ road network is “designed to carry a certain weight”, but that vehicles exceeding the foreseen maximum weight cause the road surface to subside.

This can be dangerous for other road users, particularly motorcyclists, while it also allows rain to puddle and pool instead of draining away.

Until the cameras are installed, Vafeades said, checks will continue to be carried out on lorries using Cyprus’ road network.

“Today, in the absence of this equipment, we are proceeding with spot checks, wherein a team of supervisors staff a weigh station and stop a selection of lorries to weigh them, and then take the appropriate action if they are overweight.

“However, these inspections are not taking place 24 hours a day, and this means that quite a few lorries manage to evade checks,” he said, while also saying the team of supervisors is currently understaffed.

“So, if I manage to take that responsibility away from the supervisors by installing these cameras, those supervisors can then be placed elsewhere in other roles,” he said.