![](\"http:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/parliament-criminalises-traffic-sign-vandalism.jpg\")
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Parliament on Thursday passed a law making it a criminal offence to damage, deface or in any way alter a traffic sign.<\/p>\n
The legislation, amending the Road Safety Law, provides for sentences of either up to six months prison, or a fine up to \u20ac1,700, or both running concurrently.<\/p>\n
It prohibits writing, engraving, or drawing on traffic signs using any means \u2013 such as spray paint \u2013 and also the destruction, removal or defacement of such signs.<\/p>\n
The bill, tabled by Disy MP Nikos Georgiou, passed by a unanimous vote.<\/p>\n
In his remarks before the vote, Georgiou spoke of the common phenomenon of vandalism against traffic signs by \u201cmindless individuals.\u201d He said the state must send a clear signal of deterrence.<\/p>\n
Such behaviour, he added, inconveniences the public but can sometimes also lead to dangerous situations for drivers.<\/p>\n
According to Akel MP Costas Costa, every year the state spends between \u20ac200,000 to \u20ac300,000 on restoring or repairing traffic signs.<\/p>\n
Diko\u2019s Christos Orfanides said the Road Transport Department is now replacing defaced traffic signs with new ones coated with a special foil that allows for vandals\u2019 inscriptions to be rubbed out with a sponge.<\/p>\n
Alterations to signs not only confuse motorists as to the applicable speed limit, but also gives wrong information about directions. And the situation makes Cyprus looks bad to tourists, said Orfanides.<\/p>\n
For his part, Diko deputy Zacharias Koulias said the state of traffic signs across the island is \u201cembarrassing\u201d. Many signs need to be replaced altogether, as the colours have faded away and they are illegible.<\/p>\n
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The Parliament of Cyprus has passed a law criminalizing the damage, defacement, or alteration of traffic signs. The new legislation amends the Road Safety Law and imposes penalties of up to six months in prison, a fine of up to \u20ac1,700, or both for such offenses. The bill was introduced by Disy MP Nikos Georgiou and was passed unanimously. The law aims to deter vandalism of traffic signs, which not only causes inconvenience to the public but can also create dangerous situations for drivers. Akel MP Costas Costa noted that the state spends between \u20ac200,000 to \u20ac300,000 annually on the restoration or repair of traffic signs. Diko\u2019s Christos Orfanides mentioned that the Road Transport Department is now using a special foil on new traffic signs that allows graffiti to be removed easily. Alterations to traffic signs can confuse motorists regarding speed limits and directions, and can negatively impact the island’s image to tourists. Diko deputy Zacharias Koulias commented on the poor state of many traffic signs in Cyprus, with many being faded and illegible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3,250,120,131,470,513,514,363,459,495],"class_list":["post-2296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-cyprus","tag-google","tag-picks4","tag-prison","tag-road","tag-road-safety","tag-road-signs","tag-road-transport","tag-traffic","tag-vandalism"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n