PM urges tougher punishments for reckless driving

In eight months of this year 107 persons were killed and 936 other were injured in traffic accidents involving unfastened seat-belts. Many drivers consider that using the seat-belt is a disgrace and develop a dangerous pattern of driving behavior, Interiors Minister Valentin Mejinschi told a Government meeting on Wednesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanyi instructed the Ministry of Interiors to intensify inspections on the roads and apply tougher punishments to traffic violators who have no regard for their and others' lives, regardless of the ranks or positions they occupy. Mejinschi promised that the Ministry would take a tough line on unbuckled drivers. According to statistics, in the period January-August there were recorded 1,668 traffic accidents across the country, which killed 259 persons and injured 2,098 other. One in five accidents involved children, 31 of whom died.