European and Moldovan officials dressed in reflective vests distributed informational brochures about how to give first aid on one of the Chisinau streets that see a large number of road accidents, IPN reports.

UN Resident Coordinator in Moldova Nicola Harrington-Buhay said that this brochure must be present in the vehicle of any driver, besides the medical kit. “Today’s event is a step forward in Moldova’s commitment to halve the number of road accidents by 2020. The partnerships created in Chisinau and Tiraspol with a view to improving road safety will save the lives of many people from the two banks of the Nistru, while the informative materials we offer today will contribute to achieving this objective,” stated Nicola Harrington-Buhay.

Wicher Slagter, head of the Political and Economic Section of the EU Delegation to Moldova, said that compared with other European countries, the number of road accidents in Moldova is high. “Many deaths and many injuries can be avoided. The brochure ensures better information so that the drivers know what they should do in one case or another,” he said.

Maria Golovaci, consultant at the Health Ministry’s Primary Medical Care Division, said that active measures are taken to diminish the number of traffic accidents, but things can be changed only with the involvement of the state institutions. “Each of us should make a contribution. Until we think that this is someone else’s problem, we will change nothing,” she stressed.

The brochures “Be informed, be safe!” are printed in Romania and Russian and will be distributed at overhaul stations on both of the banks of the Nistru River. A similar drive to sensitize the drivers will be staged in Tiraspol.

As many as 113 persons died in road accidents in Moldova so far this year.