Representatives of the Cycling Federation of the Republic of Moldova and activists of other relevant associations say they have struggled for years for the traffic rules and road infrastructure to be adjusted so that all the participants feel safe in traffic. They ask for clear separation of the roadway from cycling tracks and for introducing an obligatory minimum distance between a car and a cyclist and penalties for its violation. The statements were made after two minor cyclists were struck by a car close to Stăuceni commune of the municipality of Chisinau several days ago.

In a news conference hosted by IPN, the Federation’s chairman Igor Shorin said that the two cyclists aged 13 rode by the right side of the street and, as eyewitnesses related, the driver who hit them with his car tried to overtake another vehicle by the right side, in breach of the rules. One of the teens is in a coma, in a serious, but stable state. The other teen suffered a concussion and a clavicle fracture.

According to him, what happened is a tragedy and it is regrettably not the first one. If measures are not taken, it won’t be the last one either. A violation was committed as regards the security of cyclists as the athletes were to be accompanied by a technical emergency deckle. “There are persons who try to shift the blame onto the athletes. But I don’t consider they are to blame as they were in that system that ignored the security rules. But the driver is undoubtedly to blame,” stated Igor Shorin.

Ana Popa, co-founder of the Chisinau Bicycles Alliance, said the Association during over three years has tried to work with the local and central public authorities for them to take clear, prompt measures to ensure the safety of bicyclists on local and national roads. “There are insufficient words to express the emotions related to the tragedies that happen one after another in the municipality of Chisinau and on national roads. It is clear that speeding and the inappropriate infrastructure enable such incidents to happen and to repeat with worrisome consistency,” said Ana Popa.

Dmitri Naumov-Socolov, who represents amateur cyclists within the Federation, said the amateurs do not need the accompanying car. All the people all over the word travel like this, primarily in the European states, where the number of cyclists is very high.

Vladimir Cabysh, vice president of the Triathlon Federation, noted that the case in Stăuceni is regrettably not the only one and many athletes are involved in accidents. In such conditions, the active and healthy lifestyle is less accessible to the young people.

Andrei Tchmil president of honor of the Cycling Federation, said that given the aforementioned, they will insist again on toughening up the penalties for traffic participants who violate traffic rules and on adjusting the law so that the cyclists are better protected. Staging training sessions for cyclists in large groups, who would be accompanied not only by a technical emergency vehicle, but also by patrol officers, is a solution. If the situation is not changed, cycling as a sport will disappear in Moldova.

Note: IPN News Agency gives the right of reply to persons who consider they were touched by the news items produced based on statements of the organizers of the given news conference, including by facilitating the organization of another news conference in similar conditions.