Cyprus mourns its 51st road victim of 2019 with Panayiotis Panayiotou, 21, dying in a car accident, while the 20-year-old passenger struggles for his life at the Nicosia General Hospital.

The two men were found in a ditch after plummeting down a 190-meter cliff when their car deviated from the Spilia-Kannavia mountain road.

The two young men were located at the scene by Kakopetria police officers at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday night.

Cyprus traffic police chief Yiannis Georgiou told CyBC radio Monday morning that the two young men were not wearing a seatbelt.

Cyprus police data show that the number of deaths from traffic accidents in 2019 (51) has already exceeded the number of 49 last year, while there is concern about an additional increase during the holiday season.

Deaths on the roads of Cyprus at its highest level for two years

In 2014, Cyprus mourned the loss of 45 people, with deaths that rose to 57 the following year, falling back to 46 in 2016.

In 2017, 53 people lost their lives on the roads of Cyprus and 49 in 2018.

With the death rate per population still high, and far from the EU targets set in 2010 for member states to reduce by half by 2020, Cyprus is obliged to reduce road deaths to less than 30 a year.

According to Eurostat, Cyprus is well above the average EU road deaths of 49 per million inhabitants. The latest available data show Cyprus with 62 deaths per million inhabitants in 2017.

With Christmas approaching, the authorities are worried because the holiday seasons see drivers behaving in a more “erratic” way, while drunk driving becomes a factor.

The Cyprus Youth Council launched a campaign of zero victims under the motto #takecare.

The main idea behind #Take Care is that young people should not only be the recipients of this campaign, but also the protagonists.

That is why the Cyprus Youth Council has invited young people to participate in the campaign as “bosses”.

The team of bosses is the driving force of the campaign, made up of people who have experienced the consequences of a traffic accident, actively participate in road safety campaigns and are willing to work for social change.

Traffic Watchdog REACTION has launched its Christmas campaign under the motto “I will be there” (#thaeimaiekei), in an effort to raise awareness about road safety by reminding drivers that there is someone waiting for them at home.