Speeding – cause of each second road accident

About 500 persons were killed and 3,300 injured in the 2,729 traffic accidents that occurred in Moldova last year, Minister of the Interior Victor Catan said at a meeting of the National Council for Road Safety, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the minister, the drivers are to blame for more than 80% of the road accidents. Speeding is the cause of every second accident. Each seventh accident happened when the driver did not give way to the pedestrian. Drunk drivers caused each eleventh accident, while the pedestrians - each tenth. Out of the total number of victims of the road accidents, 561 were children, 39 of whom died. Last year, the traffic police caught 13,500 speeding drivers and 2,240 drunk drivers. They withdraw licenses from 922 persons and placed 62 drivers under 15-day arrest. Unfortunately, the prosecutors close the cases and do not send them to court, Victor Catan said. Moreover, the Ministry of the Interior must pay 16 lei for the alcohol test and 85 lei for collecting biological samples. The minister said the situation on the roads can be remedied by using surveillance equipment, appropriately training the drivers, working out an efficient system for identifying the persons driving under the influence and improving the vehicle overhaul rules.