Cyprus Transport - Roads
The first ever moving vehicle to be imported into Cyprus was a black steam engine or locomotive in 1892. The man that brought it to the island wanted to drive it from Larnaca to Nicosia but the device was very unreliable and kept breaking down on the side of the road, letting off huge amounts of thick, black smoke.
Cyprus has come a long way since then in creating a very good roads infrastructure, and the work is ongoing, with new upgrades and road constructions planned. Motorways (sometimes referred to as highways) mostly have 4 lanes, i.e. 2 per direction, whilst main roads / intercity roads mostly have 2 lanes, 1 per direction, however there are a few exceptions.
Cyprus does have speed limits which are often ignored by locals. On motorways the minimum speed is 65 Km, whilst the maximum is 100 Km. Built up areas generally have a maximum speed of 50 Km, but areas near schools etc are often 30 Km. Speed limits are set for the safety of all, please do not ignore them.
In January 2010, President Demetris Christofias pledged to achieve a drastic reduction in road accidents and declared 2010 as the year of Road Safety, with young people as the focus. European statistics show that during 2009 Cyprus had 89 road deaths, which equates to a rate of 10.4 per 100,000 population. Statistics for the year 2010 reveal that 60 road deaths were recorded. The 60 deaths recorded in 2010 were broken down as 24 in cars, 21 on motorbikes and 13 pedestrians. There were also 588 serious injuries recorded from road accidents during 2010, which was 9.12% lower than 2009, when 647 serious injuries were recorded. However the road safety campaign did not do any good during 2011, as there was an 18% increase in road deaths during the year, with 71 deaths being recorded for the year.
You must be 17 and a half years of age or older to obtain a provisional drivers license in Cyprus, and you must be accompanied by an experienced driver age 35 or older who has held a full driving license for at least 5 years. The same applies to provisional license holders aged 18, however the accompanying person may be 25 years of age.
If you are moving to Cyprus and you have a UK provisional licence you can now take driving lessons using your UK provisional licence. After you have lived in Cyprus six months, you need to exchange your UK provisional licence for a Cypriot provisional licence, before you are able to take the driving test. Download free information about learning to drive in Cyprus. The information is provided free courtesy of a reputable british driving instuctor who operates a driving school in Cyprus.
2012 should also see new regulations of bicycle traffic, with a new law having been submitted to the cabinet and to Parliament.
The main motorways in Cyprus are;
A1 Nicosia - Limassol
A2 Nicosia - Larnaca
A3 Larnaca Airport - Ayia Napa
A5 Larnaca – Limassol
A6 Limassol – Paphos
A7 Paphos – Polis
A8 Limassol - Saittas
A9 Nicosia - Astromeritis
A22 Nicosia 3rd Ring road
Road speed cameras used to be fitted around Cyprus with fines made on road traffic offenders, however due to technical problems the cameras were removed. A new network of road speed cameras should be in operation again around Cyprus during 2012.
Road signs are generally easy to identify, and reading them should be no problem due to them being written in Greek and English.
During peak times traffic tailbacks can occur, especially around the busy city of Nicosia, however it is hoped that the construction of the new Nicosia ring road will ease the traffic congestion.
Roads leading up to the higher regions of Troodos mountains may be closed in winter due to snow or ice, often at such times only 4 wheel drive vehicles or vehicles fitted with snow chains will be allowed to reach the highest parts.