The Patrol Police Inspectorate has announced a campaign to crack down on the drivers’ widespread habit of violating no-stopping, no-standing and no-parking rules. Beginning on April 22, rule breakers will face fines of up to 1,500 lei and four penalty points on their driver records.
The Inspectorate has found that most drivers use to stop or park where it suits them, in front of stores, near intersections, on pedestrian crossings, and in front of entrances. All these violations often create obstacles to fire engines, ambulances and police patrol vehicles, and on sidewalks to people with disabilities and parents pushing prams, who are often forced to step on the road in order to get around parked cars, at the risk of their lives.
According to the Inspectorate, last year over 8,000 drivers were penalised for such violations, and in the first quarter of this year only 500 such tickets were issued, which is a 75% decrease from the similar period last year.
The Inspectorate is asking drivers to park their cars in a way that doesn’t create obstacles to others and not to forget that every driver is also a pedestrian.
