Chisinau and Tiraspol will work together to reduce the number of road accidents. This partnership was discussed on Thursday during a training organized by the Automobile Clubs of Moldova and the Transnistrian region in the framework of the “Support to Confidence Building Measures” Program, funded by the European Union and co-funded and implemented by the UNDP Moldova. UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova Nicola Harrington-Buhay stated that the timeliness of the workshop was relevant more than ever as the UN General Assembly proclaimed the period 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. “Today’s event is a step forward in Moldova’s commitment to reduce the number of road accidents by 50% by 2020. The partnership between Chisinau and Tiraspol in ensuring better road safety will save lives of people from both banks of the Nistru River”. Hubert Duhot, Project Manager at the EU Delegation to Moldova, said that increased attention was paid to supporting nonpolitical projects which could bring both sides of the Nistru closer together. “We hope that this project will bring together authorities from both banks of Nistru river to increase awareness about the road safety measures which will ultimately reduce the number of road accidents and save people’s lives”. Moldova’s Traffic Police chief Serghei Diaconu said he wished to see the day when no traffic accidents or casualties occurred. “The Traffic Police's mission is not to impose fines but to ensure that all the participants in traffic get home safe and sound”, said Diaconu. He added that the Government's action plan and strategy to reduce the number of road accidents was delivering the first results: the road toll in 2012 dropped by 5%, decreasing by 12% in the last three years. Andrei Levchenko, manager of the Tiraspol Automobile Club, said Chisinau and Tiraspol shared the same traffic problems, according to a survey, with the only exception being the number of vehicles. The training is part of a series of activities carried out by the project “Development of Partnerships to Reduce the Number of Road Accidents in Chisinau and Tiraspol”, implemented by the Automobile Clubs of Moldova and Transnistrian region in partnership with the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport from Great Britain. Apart from trainings, the project will produce analyses and reports on road safety, will develop strategies for creating partnerships in Tiraspol and Chisinau and will undertake practical activities on road safety and social information campaigns.