A campaign to inform children and parents about road traffic safety will be staged in general educational institutions of the Republic of Moldova and also in youth centers and exctraschool educational institutions. An order to this effect was signed by Minister of Education and Research Anatolie Topală, as secretary of state of the Ministry Adriana Cazacu announced.

“We set the goal of organizing this nationwide Campion “ABC of Safe Travel” in March-May. We are getting ready for the summer season, for the end of the school year, when the children are on vacation and are not under the supervision of teachers,” Adriana Cazacu stated in a working meeting convoked by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The secretary of state said that emphasis will be also placed on the raising of the awareness and responsibility of parents so as to diminish tragic cases that are regrettable for the country and the educational system. Short films and audio messages to be presented on the radio will be produced as part of the campaign.

Adriana Cazacu noted that the Ministry will support the initiative that was proposed in the event – to constitute a working group whose task will be to regulate routes for cyclists and to design safer routes for training and travel as the sports schools are also managed by the Ministry of Education and Research. The working group will consists of representatives of cycling associations, sports federation and other entities.

The meeting also involved the acting director general of the State Road Administration Sergiu Bejan, who underlined the necessity of minimizing thefts of road signs, noting that 5,000 to 7,000 road signs are annually stolen in Moldova. A problem is also caused by the vendors who sell products by the roadside, generating traffic jams and affecting road traffic safety. There are areas where no economic activities can be performed without affecting road safety. 

“All those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, speak on the phone while driving, do not allow pedestrians to cross, violate the speed limit and commit many other illegalities consciously will not get rid of punishment. The penalties will be harsh. We will make sure that the introduced mechanism and the law work so that we ensure safety on our roads as Moldova aims to have good roads that would unite the business community, tourism and would bring investments and development to our communities,” noted Minister of Internal Affairs Ana Revenco.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs drafted and sent to Parliament a bill that makes the penalties for traffic participants harsher and contains new implementation mechanisms aimed at making these more responsible. The legislative body is to give a second reading to this bill on March 2.