House Speaker Syllouris’ Son Guilty of Manslaughter in Road Accident
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Kyriakos Syllouris, the 21-year-old son of House Speaker Demetris Syllouris, has been found guilty of manslaughter in a Nicosia 2013 road fatality.
K. Syllouris was just 18 when the accident happened, and tested negative for alcohol.
At 3:15 am on September 21st, 2013, Petros Sebastianos Karapateas, aged 29, was on his way to his Strovolos home on his Vespa moped when he was hit by Kyriakos Syllouris’ vehicle. Petros Karapateas was a teacher, brother and loving son, and a friend to many, according to a Youtube tribute by his family and friends.
Two families are now suffering tragedies that could have been avoided with more awareness of road safety. Extended training or restrictions for young, inexperienced drivers, properly-lit roads, and campaigns urging drivers to respect motorcyclists are just a few measures that could be prioritised.
How the court sentences Kyriakos Syllouris will also send a message to the public.
Sentencing is set for September 14th.
There, by the grace of God, go all of us.
Practical measures needed
Transport Minister Marios Demetriades and Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou met to discuss critical road safety issues like road lighting, drivers over the age of 70 and outsourcing driver’s education to the private sector.
A database of road accidents would help to plan strategies to reduce them, said the transport minister.
In addition, the ministers discussed a programme to re-train traffic offenders. Similar programmes have been successful in other countries, said the minister.
Dangerous driving
In 2015, police fined 22,000 drivers for various offences. Still, the high number of fatalities due to speeding, dangerous overtaking, driving under the influence or other types of reckless driving have not been significantly reduced.
One of the biggest problems is aggressive or high-risk driving like excessive speeding, running red lights or doing dangerous u-turns. Added to this risk are dangerous road conditions. Although the road system has evolved, it is full of confusing one-ways, road signs hidden by trees, faded road lines, while being badly-lit and badly maintained. Combined with high-risk driving, it adds up to road danger, rather than road safety.
Shared responsibility
A solution would be for political leaders, municipalities and MPs to take on the worthwhile cause and channel resources towards educational campaigns and awareness campaigns. A consistent approach towards road safety awareness has not yet been reached. But for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of drivers and passengers who risk their lives daily on the Cyprus roads, it’s about time this changed.
Fixing the roads and planning traffic circulation and parking more effectively would also go a long way towards safer driving conditions.
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