Cyprus Road Rules

Traffic moves on the left throughout the island, as in the UK and most Commonwealth nations. Front-seatbelt use is mandatory on the open road but discretionary in towns; children under five years of age may not occupy the front seats, and kids five to ten only if wearing seatbelts. Drunkdriving laws are strict, north and south and if you're caught over the limit in the North, you'll pay a stiff fine and spend the night in a drying-out cell. Speed limits in the South are 100km/hr (minimum 65km/hr) on dual carriageways, 80km/hr on other rural roads and 50km/hr in towns. Entry into urban zones is announced by big signs reading "Katikomeni Periokhi' (Built-up Area). In the North, limits are roughly the same, but may still be posted in miles per hour: 100kph/60mph on the KyreniaNicosia-Famagusta highway, 60kph/ 40mph on smaller back roads and 50kph/30mph in built-up areas.

Urban boundaries aren't explicitly signposted in the North, but there are remarkable numbers of khaki-drill-clad policemen maintaining speed traps with hand-held radar devices at town outskirts. A particuiar stake-out, well known but still netting large numbers of victims, is just west of Kyrenia, near the military camp, especially on weekend nights. If you're caught, police are apt to be poiite but firm. You have fifteen days to pay citations at the district poilice station. If you don't, your name might pop up on the airport computer at departure. Fines (£4-5) are geared to local salaries and therefore seam risibly low to outsiders. Radar speed traps are now quite common on the motorways of the South, but they haven't yet made much of a dent on unsafe local driving habits, chief among which are tailgating and ambling down the centre of the road.

In the larger Southern towns, use the designated municipal lots for parking; they're not expensive C£O.40 or C£O.50 for a half-day in Nicosia or Larnaca is the most you'll ever pay, though lots kept by private individuals can be much more. If you see a tempting-looking bit of waste ground and leave your car there, odds are that an attendant will appear as if by magic and dun you. Meters on some commercial streets take twenty-cent coins for each hour, and yellow lines at kerbsides mean the same thing as in Britain: single, no parking during business hours; double, no parking or stopping at all. No-parking zones are poorly indicated in the North, though a policeman may appear and politely tell you if you're being blatantly illegal.