Punishments for drivers giving no right of way to pedestrians on crosswalks to be toughened in Moldova

Chisinau 12 December /MOLDPRES/ - The heads and representatives of international organizations promoting and backing policies and projects for road safety brought together in London to discuss the Global Sustainable Development Goals  on Road Safety, the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.   
Attending the conference, organized at the headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the UK capital, was also Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu. The Moldovan speaker, along with Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, a member of the House of Commons, president of the Global Network for Road Safety Legislators Barry Sheerman, referred to the importance of lawmakers’ involvement for enhancing the Road Safety globally.     
“In the last year, the number of traffic accidents has been dropping in Moldova. Nevertheless, the figure is still high for our country. One of the main reasons is the exceeding of the speed limit in conditions of bad weather, low visibility, crowded traffic. Drivers should experience a traffic accident, in order to be aware of the risks when they push the accelerator, exceeding the speed limit. Therefore, we are set to implement a project on training, through which drivers are to undergo such an experience in the virtual space,” the parliament speaker, ambassador of the Road Safety in Moldova said.   
In the presentation made, Andrian Candu touched upon the pedestrian traffic too. Hundreds of people annually die because of the irregular crossing of streets or even on crosswalks. To reduce the statistics, Candu said that punishments would be toughened for drivers who do not give right of way to pedestrians on crosswalks. The speaker also said that he would further promote lessons on traffic rules in schools, held by the National Patrol Inspectorate and Automobile Club from Moldova.   
The parliament speaker also spoke about the national roads in Moldova, which, to the greatest extent, have a high risk, according to an earlier conducted survey within the SENSOR project. In the context, Andrian Candu thanked EBRD representatives for financing projects on modernization of roads’ infrastructure in Moldova, which will contribute to enhancing the road safety.   
Andrian Candu accepted to become ambassador of Road Safety in early 2017, at a proposal by the director of the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport, Emma MacLennan.