DOC // Law on Road Safety Assessment published in Official Journal

The Law amending Law No. 350/2023 on the management of road infrastructure safety has been published in the Official Journal. The document stipulates that road safety assessment across the entire road network of the Republic of Moldova will be carried out at least once every five years.

The amendments were drafted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development in the context of the National Programme for Accession to the European Union and were approved by Parliament in the second reading.

According to the new provisions, road safety assessments will aim to identify accident risks and areas where collisions with serious consequences may occur.

The process will include two components: a visual inspection of the infrastructure and an analysis of road sections that have been in operation for more than three years and where a high number of serious accidents has been recorded.

At the same time, a voluntary online reporting system will be created. Through this system, road users will be able to submit information about actual or potential hazards affecting road infrastructure safety.

The authors of the amendments maintain that, until now, the regulatory framework did not provide for a road safety assessment mechanism for roads in operation. Under these circumstances, road administrators were unable to intervene early enough to prevent accidents, while investment priorities were largely determined by accidents that had already occurred.

Periodic infrastructure assessments are expected to help reduce accident risks and direct investments toward road sections with a higher level of danger.

Data presented by the authorities show that, since the proclamation of independence, more than 83,000 road accidents have been recorded in the Republic of Moldova. These accidents resulted in 12,906 deaths and 101,064 injuries.

At the same time, according to a World Bank study, the economic losses caused by very serious road accidents amounted to approximately 2.7% of the Republic of Moldova's GDP in 2023, equivalent to around 450 million US dollars.

The law will enter into force on January 1, 2028.