Blind Zone Behind Heavy Vehicles While Climbing Girne Pass

While climbing Girne Pass toward Lefkoşa, a recurring risk forms behind heavy vehicles on the uphill stretch near the picnic area. Locally known as Boğaz, this section compresses visibility just as traffic behavior becomes least predictable. The danger does not come from low speed, but from what disappears from view.

On the incline, trucks and articulated vehicles maintain steady torque rather than pace. Drivers following behind lose sight of the road ahead, upcoming speed changes, and short movements near the roadside. The lane feels closed. Decisions narrow. The assumption forms that nothing ahead will change.

Time patterns sharpen the effect. Between 08:00–10:30 and 16:30–18:00, heavy vehicles are common on this climb, coinciding with local traffic moving in and out of nearby pull-offs. The driver behind the truck reads the road as blocked and static. In reality, movement continues beyond the blind zone.

A familiar local sequence repeats. A heavy vehicle slows slightly to manage the gradient. A car ahead adjusts speed or position beyond the truck’s nose. The following driver cannot see it. When the truck’s pace changes, the reaction comes late. Braking begins on the incline, where stopping distance stretches. Contact rarely involves the truck itself. It happens with the movement revealed too late.

This pattern is not new. Since the 1980s, the climb past the picnic area has produced the same outcome whenever tall vehicles dominate the lane. Asphalt has changed. Signage has changed. The loss of forward vision behind heavy vehicles has not.

On Girne Pass, the risk uphill is not the truck’s speed,

but assuming the road ahead has stopped moving because it cannot be seen