Roads' safety to be assessed at least once every five years in Moldova; drivers to be able to report dangerous areas online

The road safety across the entire roads’ network of Moldova will be assessed at least once every five years, according to a draft law approved by the parliament in second reading, with 58 votes, today. The measure aims to identify dangerous sections in advance and prevent serious accidents.

The draft law amending the Law on the Management of Road Infrastructure Safety was developed by the Infrastructure and Regional Development Ministry, in the context of the National Programme for Accession to the European Union.

Presently, the regulatory framework does not provide a mechanism for periodic assessment of the safety of roads in operation. According to the authors, this situation limits the ability of road administrators to take preventive action, and investments are prioritized largely based on accidents that have already occurred.

The assessments envisaged by the draft will aim to identify accident risks and sections where there is a possibility of collisions with serious consequences. The process will include visual inspection of the infrastructure, as well as analysis of roads that have been in operation for more than three years and have recorded a high number of serious accidents.

At the same time, an online voluntary reporting system will be created, through which road users will be able to submit information about real or potential hazards to road infrastructure safety.

According to the authors, periodic assessment will allow faster identification of high‑risk sections and the directing of investments to areas where interventions are needed, in order to reduce the risk of accidents.

Statistics data presented in the explanatory note to the draft show that, since the proclamation of Moldova’s independence, more than 83,000 road accidents have been recorded in the country, resulting in 12,906 deaths and 101,064 injuries.

A World Bank study shows that the economic losses caused by very serious road accidents in 2023 amounted to approximately 2.7 per cent of Moldova’s Gross Domestic Product, the equivalent of about 450 million US dollars.