Fines for drivers who do not give way to pedestrians may rise

The drivers who will not give way to pedestrians and cyclists at crosswalks may pay fines of up to 1,500 lei and get five penalty points or will be deprived of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of 3 to 6 years. The rise in fines was proposed by the Traffic Police Division, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a communiqué from the Division, the current penalty consists of a fine of up to 200 lei and two penalty points. The measure follows the alarming increase in the number of road accidents involving pedestrians. “Driving a vehicle implies huge responsibility. The high number of road accidents that result in deaths and persons injured makes us take drastic measures in order to ensure the security of all the traffic participants, especially the pedestrians. Therefore, we suggested a number of changes to the Code of Administrative Offenses that toughen up the penalties for violating the Road Traffic Regulations,” said the chief of the Traffic Police Sergiu Diaconu. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, spokeswoman for the Traffic Police Division Antonina Talpa said the drivers who commit violations will be identified by traffic police officers and with the help of pedestrians, based on complaints filed to the police. It is important that the pedestrians remember the license number and the model of the car. Witnesses can also help. According to the Division’s statistics, as many as 655 accidents involving pedestrians happened on the country’s roads over the first nine months of this year. This is over 1/3 of all the accidents. They resulted in 75 deaths.