Seven motorcyclists have already been killed on Cyprus roads this year, prompting the island’s motorcycle community to submit a series of proposals to the Road Safety Council aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries.
The toll so far in 2026 compares with 12 motorcycle riders and passengers killed throughout the whole of 2025.
At the council’s most recent session, Adonis Christofidis, president of the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation and 2026 road safety ambassador, presented a set of recommendations covering two broad areas: active safety, aimed at reducing the likelihood of a rider being involved in a fall or collision, and passive safety, aimed at reducing the likelihood of serious injury or death during and after a crash.
Active safety measures
The proposals on active safety include:
- Training in motorcycle handling skills through approved driving schools
- Training in risk assessment and emergency braking through driving schools
- Use of motorcycles equipped with safer collision-avoidance systems, including ABS and traction control
- Incentives for scrapping older, more dangerous motorcycles without ABS
- Improvement of the road network and safer infrastructure
- Enforcement of the Highway Code and deterrence of dangerous behaviour through defensive driving
These measures are estimated to produce reductions of between 22 and 31 per cent in fatal collisions and between 34 and 42 per cent in serious collisions in Europe, according to the proposals.
Passive safety measures
The proposals on passive safety include:
- Use of EC22.06-certified helmets, with subsidy incentives recommended
- Use of CE-certified protective equipment including airbag systems, jackets with chest and spinal protection, CE-rated boots (not trainers), CE gloves and CE trousers
- Knowledge and application of first aid
According to international studies cited by the Cyprus Motorcycle Federation, helmets contribute to a reduction in the risk of death of between 37 and 42 per cent, and a reduction in serious head injuries of between 60 and 70 per cent.
ABS braking systems have been shown to contribute to a reduction in fatal collisions of between 32 and 41 per cent. The same studies, sourced from WHO Road Safety Reports and the NHTSA Motorcycle Safety data, found that between 25 and 33 per cent of motorcyclist and passenger deaths involve riders who are not properly licensed.
Specific recommendations
The Cyprus Motorcycle Federation is calling for incentives to scrap older motorcycles without ABS, and incentives to purchase high-specification helmets meeting the MIPS standard.
The Federation also recommends certifying driving schools with a unified training programme developed by the Department of Road Transport, with input from the Federation, and reforming the riding licence examination to assess specific competencies rather than being structured around time duration.
First aid training for motorcyclists is another recommendation, along the lines of programmes already in place across Europe.
Germany runs a certified course of around nine teaching hours; Switzerland requires a mandatory ten-hour course before the theory examination; Austria provides a six-hour emergency life-saving training; Denmark runs an eight-hour CPR and road safety course; Norway requires mandatory first aid training for new riders; and Slovenia, Hungary and the Baltic states have equivalent mandatory requirements.
The Federation also calls for improved road infrastructure, stricter enforcement checks, and an extension of policing to smaller communities outside major urban centres.
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