Police are running a campaign to clamp down on drink driving that will run until October 29, they announced.

“As it is known, driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the main causes of fatal road crashes, so police are focusing efforts on this the direction,” they said.

Read more on drink driving limits in Europe.

A 51-year-old man was caught driving drunk on Tuesday afternoon on the Limassol to Nicosia motorway with his eight-year-old daughter in the car, police said.

A preliminary breathalyzer test conducted after he was stopped at 3pm because he was driving dangerously showed a reading of 170μg with the legal limit being 22μg.

The driver and his daughter were taken to police headquarters where the girl was handed over to her grandmother. The welfare office was also informed.

A follow-up test at the police station indicated 129μg of blood alcohol content.

The man was charged and is expected to appear in court at a later date.

At around 5.25am on Wednesday, police caught another man, 45, driving drunk on the motorway.

He had been stopped by police officers on the Limassol to Nicosia motorway near Kofinou for alcohol testing.

A preliminary breathalyzer test showed 137μg and a second one conducted later on came up with 119μg.

Police said earlier this month they carried out a campaign against drink driving catching 113 motorists over the limit.

During the campaign, between December 4 and 10, a total of 1,173 alcohol checks were carried out. Of the ones tested, 113 drivers were under the influence of alcohol and were booked, police said.

Driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the main causes of fatal road crashes.

About 25 per cent of all road fatalities in Cyprus and in the EU are due to driving under the influence of alcohol.

A 49-year-old driver who was speeding and nearly five times over the legal alcohol limit was caught at 10am in the Famagusta area on Friday.

Police officers stopped him driving at 108 km/h on a road where the speed limit is 65 km/h.

Because he smelled strongly of alcohol they administered a breathalyser test which was positive. The test read 106μg, almost five times the legal limit of 22μg.

He was fined for speeding and will appear in court for driving under the influence of alcohol.

A 28-year-old woman is in Famagusta general hospital with head injuries and concussion after the car her husband was driving crashed into an electricity pole early on Monday.

The man, who abandoned the accident scene in Paralimni, was later found to be almost eight times over the alcohol limit.

The woman went to the hospital at around 4.45am with head injuries and said that she had been in a car accident at around 2am and that her husband had been driving.

The man, 35, was brought in to the Paralimni police station where he was given a breathalyser test which indicated he had been almost eight times over the limit. He was charged and is to be called to court at a later stage.

The Famagusta district court on Thursday slapped a Swedish tourist with a fine of €400 for being in possession of two knives, a sledgehammer and a collapsible baton.

Police found the weapons in the man’s car when they stopped him for driving dangerously in Protaras on Wednesday just before midnight.

Officers on patrol observed a car coming from the opposite direction on Protaras avenue which was being driven at great speed without its headlights on.

The driver overtook other vehicles which were stopped at a red traffic light and drove through.

The officers chased and halted the car driven by the 28-year-old tourist.

The driver was arrested and a breathalyser test administered as he smelled strongly of alcohol.

The reading showed 60μg instead of the permitted 22μg.

He was charged €300 for driving under the influence of alcohol at the time and arrested.

The court then imposed the additional fine of €400 which he paid before he was released.

By Christophe Hadjigeorgiou

A man was fined €900, had eight penalty points taken from his licence and banned from driving for 50 days on Monday for driving over the limit twice in 10 days.

Police stopped the 33-year-old man for the first time on June 6 when a breathalyser revealed 75 milligrams of alcohol in his blood instead of 22 milligrams, which is the limit. He was caught once more on June 16, driving home with 77 milligrams of alcohol.

Both cases were brought before Larnaca court on Monday which imposed a penalty of €450, four penalty points, and 25 days suspension for each sentence.

Courts across the island handed down stiff penalties, including imprisonment, on Monday to law-breaking drivers caught by the police.

In Paphos, the district court sentenced a 36-year-old driver to one month in jail and suspended his licence for six months after he was caught driving under the influence and tried to evade police.

The incident took place five days ago when police tried to stop the man for routine check. The 36-year-old accelerated in a bid to get away but he was caught a few minutes later. A breathalyser test clocked 113 microgrammes instead of 22 on top of him driving without a licence, insurance, MOT, and road tax.

In Limassol, another 36-year-old will be spending the next two weeks in jail after he was caught doing 207 kilometres per hour on a road with an 80km speed limit. The man was also given five penalty points and his licence was suspended for 60 days starting from the day of his release.

Also Monday, a Larnaca court fined a 33-year-old €900 and suspended his licence for 50 days after he was caught drink driving twice in 20 days.

The first time was on June 16 when officers when a breathalyser showed 77μg% instead of 22. On July 5, the man was caught again with 75μg%.

A 29-year-old woman in Paphos was arrested on Friday night after she swore at an officer for giving her an alcohol breath test.

According to authorities, the woman, a British permanent resident of Cyprus, was stopped by police, while she was driving on Spyros Kyprianou Avenue in Paphos. A breathalyser test revealed 97mg in her system instead of the allowed 22mg.

The woman then proceeded to swear at the officer and attack him.

She was arrested and placed in custody, police said.

The sixth campaign of the year against drink driving will be launched by the police on Monday, lasting until Sunday, August 19.

A police statement said that in the EU around 25 per cent of traffic deaths are caused by driving under the influence of alcohol.

Driving after drinking, even if only a small amount, increases the chances of being involved in a traffic crash, largely due to the reduction in the driver’s reaction time.

Two people were caught committing serious traffic offences in the Famagusta district on Thursday evening, police said.

At 9.10pm, police officers booked a 23-year-old man who was driving at a speed of 174km/h on the Larnaca – Ayia Napa motorway, way over the legal maximum limit of 100km/h.

A little later, at 10.20pm, a driver was arrested after he was tested for alcohol and found to be six times over the legal limit in Ayia Napa.

The 34-year-old man, a resident of Ayia Napa, was stopped by police on Ayia Napa avenue.

An initial breathalyser showed 128 µg when the allowed limit is 22 µg.

When he was asked to undergo a final check to confirm the result he resisted and was arrested.

A 39-year-old driver under the influence of alcohol was caught driving at 195km per hour on the Nicosia-Larnaca highway on Tuesday night.

Traffic police stopped the 39-year-old at around 11.30pm on Tuesday night in the Koshi area of the highway.

An alcotest read 32μg%, 10μg% above the legal alcohol limit.

Limassol police arrested a 27-year-old man early on Saturday after he crashed his car while driving under the influence of alcohol.

The man was travelling on Amathounda Avenue at around 3am when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, climbed over the median and into the opposite side of the road, and crashed into the steel fencing of a shop and came to a halt.

Officers who arrived on the scene breathalysed the 27-year-old who initially recorded 100 microgrammes and 97μg later on in the final test. The legal limit is 9μg.

The man was arrested while Limassol traffic police continued their investigation.

By Evie Andreou

Police on Saturday urged motorists not to drink and drive after the arrests on Friday night of three drivers who were so drunk they managed to plough into 12 cars between them.

One of them, a 46-year-old man from Larnaca, who crashed into two cars was caught twice in the same evening for driving over the limit.

The two other arrests occurred in Paphos where police arrested two men, aged 28 and 49, on two separate occasions who crashed into six and four cars respectively while driving drunk.

The 28-year-old was arrested on Friday evening after he caused three consecutive road accidents, involving six other cars.

The man first bashed into the back of a car that was stopped at traffic lights on Gladstonos street in Paphos just before 8.30pm. Right after the accident the 28-year-old left the scene, police said, by doing a U-turn and entering the opposite lane, where he then crashed into two oncoming cars.

He fled the scene, only to crash into three other cars further down the road. The man, according to the police, drove away once more, and was located shortly after by officers in his car.

A similar incident occurred a few hours later, at around 2am on Saturday, when a 49-year-old man, under conditions still being investigated, lost control of his car while driving on Kifissou street and crashed into a stationary vehicle parked at the side of the road. He hit the vehicle with such force that it moved and hit another car that was also parked there.

The 49-year-old continued driving and then crashed into another car parked further down the road, again with such force that it too moved and crashed into another parked car. After the second crash the 49-year-old’s car was immobilised.

He was arrested after being found to be over six times over the alcohol limit.

No injuries were reported, police said, but all the vehicles involved were damaged.

In the Larnaca incident, the driver ploughed into a municipal rubbish truck just after midnight while trying to escape a police car that was chasing him for failing to stop for a traffic check.

Larnaca traffic police chief, Haris Hadjiyiasemi, said that the 46-year-old, prior to the accident, was signalled by officers on duty to stop because he was seen driving dangerously and  suspected of being drunk. Instead, he sped off and, in his attempt to escape the police car chasing him, he first rammed into the back of a rubbish truck and while trying to flee the scene, he reversed and hit another car that was parked on the side of the road.

He was found to be almost five times over the alcohol limit. He was given a narcotest which was negative.

The 46-year-old was driven by officers back to his home and his car was towed back to his house as it was extensively damaged from the crash.

Yet, just two hours later, he was caught for the second time driving the same car, whose entire front part had been extensively damaged and a flat tyre, on Stadiou street. He was chased by the police after failing to stop.

The police car chased him all the way up to his house where he was arrested.

He is to be charged and released, but Hadjiyiasemi said that instructions were given to ensure his case is filed promptly in court.

The spate of drunken accidents prompted police to warn once more that alcohol reduces “the mental and psychological effort that is being made while driving and reduce the driver’s performance and abilities, thus increasing the risk of car accidents.”

They also said that driving under the influence of alcohol is the number one cause of fatal road accidents in Cyprus. In the EU, it said 25 per cent of all fatal road accidents are due to drink driving.

A seven-day police campaign starting on Monday will see the force target drivers who have been drinking on an island-wide level.

In the EU a quarter of all traffic accidents are due to the driver having drunk alcohol. Drinking increases the chances of a driver being involved in a crash as it increases reaction time.

It also results in a lack of self judgement and increased self esteem, which lead to more dangerous behaviour, increased speed and the non use of seatbelts.

In advance of the campaign police in Nicosia and Limassol carried out a targeted operation against drink drivers in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Out of 750 alcotests, 89 people were charged for drink driving, while another 89 were stopped for driving over the speed limit and 66 for other traffic offences.

The police campaigns continue with the aim of reducing the number of fatal and serious traffic accidents on the roads of Cyprus.

A driver six times over the legal alcohol limit crashed his car into another vehicle in Strovolos on Wednesday afternoon.

Around 4pm, the 57-year-old man hit the back of a car while he was driving on Kyriakos Matsis avenue.

Both cars were damaged but no one was injured.

An initial alcotest showed a reading of 135μg instead of the allowed 22μg. When the test was repeated the level was still 124μg.

The driver, a resident of Nicosia, was arrested.

A 28-year-old man was stopped driving on the Limassol Nicosia highway driving twice the speed limit.

According to police, he was stopped near Latsia after driving at 214km/hr instead of the allowed 100.

He was stopped during a routine police operation. When officers tested his blood he was also shown to be over the alcohol limit.

An initial test showed 45μg, while the allowed is 22, while a second test failed to take a reading.

He was arrested and later released to appear before court at a later date.

A drunk driver caused an accident on Sunday afternoon, injuring a woman and her three-year-old son.

According to police, at about 4.30 on Sunday a 33-year-old resident of Aradippou was driving on Andrea Souroukli street in Livadia when he moved into the opposite lane and crashed into a car driven by a woman from Pyla, who had her three-year-old in the car with her in a car seat.

All three were injured and taken to Larnaca General Hospital for treatment.

The woman had injuries to her right leg, while her son had a broken right leg. The driver received a head injury. All three were kept in the hospital for treatment.

Breath tests carried out at the scene showed the woman had a zero reading while the man had 121μg of alcohol in his blood, above the allowed 22.

The 33-year-old was charged in writing and will be taken to court at a later date.

A 38-year-old man was sentenced by the Nicosia district court on Friday to 15 days in jail and had his driver licence suspended for three months after being found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The man was caught driving drunk last June in Nicosia. Tests given to him indicated he had 107microgrammes of alcohol in his breath, almost five times over the alcohol limit.

Police on Saturday said they would continue daily traffic checks and show zero tolerance of irresponsible and careless driving after more than 2,500 people were caught speeding in the past two weeks, some of them going over 200 kilometres per hour.

Police said that the data collected of “wrongful and irresponsible behaviour” of many drivers revealed the lack of road awareness.

During the last 15-day campaign which focused on the use of safety belts and child car seats, they said 2,589 people were fined for speeding, in addition to hundreds of bookings for other traffic offences.

“What is even more disappointing, is that […] during the last few days, drivers were caught and booked who had been going at speeds exceeding 200 km per hour,” a written statement said.

Drivers were also found around nine times over the alcohol limit. Five of these drivers are currently waiting for their cases to be tried in courts.

“Police believe that harsh and deterrent penalties are necessary,” the statement said. “In such serious road traffic offenses, sentences even reach imprisonment.”

Five drivers caught for various serious driving offences have recently been jailed.

On January 23, a 23-year-old man was sentenced to 30 days in prison and had his licence suspended for six months after being caught driving at 227 km per hour, instead of 100.

A day later, a 22-year-old man was sentenced to 20 days in prison and had his licence suspended for five months after being caught driving at 200 km per hour, instead of 100.

On January 25, a court sentenced a 38-year-old man who was found almost five times over the alcohol limit to 15 days in prison and ordered that his licence suspended for three months.

Another man, 36, was sentenced on January 29 to three months in prison, fined €800 and had his licence suspended for six months for drink driving and for causing a road accident, among other things. He was found almost 12 times over the alcohol limit and was driving even though his licence had been suspended.

The same day, a 24-year-old was sentenced to one month in prison and had his licence suspended for seven months for being more than 22 times over the alcohol limit while behind the wheel. The breathalyser given to him showed 199 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath instead of 9mg, which is the limit for new drivers.

“These penalties are a reminder – at least to those who had forgotten – the due seriousness with which we ought to approach driving and road safety,” police said. “Road safety concerns us all.”

The priority of the police, the statement said, is limiting road collisions and casualties.

It said that daily traffic checks will continue to intensify, “displaying zero tolerance while at the same time enhancing efforts to prevent, inform and enlighten the public”.

A new speeding campaign will start on Monday. Based on statistics for the years between 2013 and 2017, it said, speeding is the third major cause of fatal road accidents.

“The change of attitude starts with each one of us,” it said.

A 44-year-old driver involved in a car crash on Saturday night in Larnaca was found to be driving 17 times over the alcohol limit, police said on Sunday.

Shortly before 7pm an accident involving two cars happened on Demosthenous street in Larnaca. There were no injuries despite considerable damage to both cars.

Police breathalysed the 44-year-old driver of one of the cars, which showed blood alcohol of 122 µg, where the allowed limit for new drivers is 9μg. A second test showed the amount was 156µg.

He was charged and ordered to appear in court on Tuesday.

On Sunday morning a second new driver was arrested for drink driving, this time with a reading of 84μg as opposed to the allowed 9μg.

As part of routine traffic checks, police stopped the 19-year-old driver at around 3.30am on Sunday on Grivas Dighenis avenue. He was arrested.