Cyprus police to be granted the right to temporarily confiscate driving licences for alcohol and drugs

At a meeting of the Road Safety Council, a decision was taken to grant the police the authority to temporarily confiscate driving licences from drivers found to be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The basis for this was an amendment to the legislation adopted by parliament in December last year. The law allows the police to immediately suspend driving licences of offenders who pose a threat to road safety.

The Minister of Transport will officially delegate the relevant powers to the Chief of Police in the near future. After that, traffic police officers will be able to decide on the spot to temporarily suspend a licence.

How the new procedure will work:

• if a breathalyser or drug test is positive, the police officer hands the driver an official notice of licence suspension;
• the offender is detained and taken to the nearest police station in accordance with the current procedure;
• information about the suspension is sent to the Chief of Police,
  where the data are entered into the electronic system.

If drugs are detected, the driver will be able to recover the licence only after providing medical confirmation of the absence of prohibited substances in the body.

In cases of alcohol intoxication, the suspension period will depend on the level of excess over the permitted limit — until court proceedings or for one to two months.

If a driver with a suspended licence is stopped again while driving, additional sanctions will apply.