Minister Kyranakis tables improvements to Road Traffic Code, following proposals by parties, agencies

A series of legislative improvements on the Road Traffic Code, following suggestions of parties and agencies, were tabled in Parliament late on Tuesday by Alternate Infrastructure and Transport Minister Konstantinos Kyranakis, during the bill's plenary discussion.
Specifically, Kyranakis said that the key improvements included the following:
- Introducing an administrative fine of 700 euros and suspending a driver's license for 60 days for a first-time U-turn violation that leads to a crash. With a car rental, the fees are paid by the car renter.
- RVs (motor homes) parking bans will now relate to vehicles with a length of 7.5 meters (instead of 6), following documentation provided by a related professional association.
- Regarding taxis using bus lanes, the minister clarified that the time limit of 30 seconds for a stop to pick up or leave a passenger is not in effect when it is done at an indented sidewalk (ie not interrupting road traffic), or when it relates to people with mobility difficulties. He said a regulation will allow a ministerial decision to be issued in order to allow the use of bus lanes by taxis when transporting passengers for medical reasons, e.g. taking kidney patients to dialysis.
- In a legislative improvement on Article 17, Kyranakis said, the ban on use of cell phones while driving will extend to other telecommunication means that include digital hand watches and tablets.