Greek police expand unmarked-vehicle traffic checks this summer

The Greek traffic police are intensifying road surveillance during the summer tourist season by deploying unmarked civilian vehicles equipped with portable radars, cameras and digital recording equipment. These cars allow officers to monitor speed limits, mobile‑phone use, wrong‑way driving and illegal street races without the deterrent effect of a visible police marked car. In the southern Aegean region in June 2026, 43,194 vehicles were stopped and 10,396 offences recorded, including 480 speeding violations, 110 cases of phone use while driving and 82 instances of opposite‑direction travel. Similar operations have been carried out on the northern Crete highway and the Ionian islands, with thousands of checks and hundreds of infractions logged.

The practice mirrors a broader European trend, with countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States also using unmarked patrol cars and automatic number‑plate recognition systems. Greece is expanding the use of a new digital platform, introduced in July, to further streamline the detection and documentation of traffic violations.