Poorly qualified drivers responsible for nearly 9 in 10 accidents

86% of traffic accidents in Moldova occur because of drivers that receive licenses without adequate education and qualifications, PM Vlad Filat stated at today's meeting of the National Council on Traffic Safety, Info-Prim Neo reports. “If we take into account that traffic accidents have killed 344 people in 2011, including 31 children, then all the notions and plans formulated at this meeting are in vain. Behind all these numbers and statistics are human lives. We have found that, besides poor roads, drivers without adequate qualifications are a major problem in Moldova. In our country driver's licenses are often obtained for informal payments. If we fight these informal payments, then the number of poor drivers will also decrease”, stated Vlad Filat. The prime minister instructed the Ministry of Education to urgently develop an action plan to improve testing of those seeking a driver's license. Deputy Transport Minister Boris Gherasim said that this week a proposal will be submitted to the Government to set up a National Agency for Traffic Safety. The Agency will supervise all the processes in the filed, from licensing to control to sanctions for traffic violations. Additionally, until the end of the year the Road Transports Code will be prepared to be submitted to parliament for adoption, Gherasim announced.