A road safety audit will be carried out on national roads. A bill on the management of road infrastructure safety was given a first reading by Parliament, IPN reports.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development said the bill stipulates the institutional framework and the method of managing road infrastructure safety on the network of public roads. Through the mandatory road safety audit, the authorities seek to make sure that the accident prevention measures are adopted at the designing stage. In this connection, the Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Bureau will be the authority responsible for the management of road infrastructure safety.

According to the sponsors of the legislative proposal, the conducting of the road safety audit at the incipient stage of projects is aimed at improving road safety, reducing risks and saving financial resources.

It should be noted that the road safety audit at present is carried out only in the case of projects with international financing. Moreover, this happens only at the express request of the donor and the audit is conducted only by foreign specialists even if Moldova has certified local auditors.

According to statistics, the 2,312 road accidents that occurred in Moldova last year resulted in 217 deaths and 2,586 persons injured.

The bill is to be given a final reading.