Radio România Internațional

Tag: road traffic

  • Measures against aggressive drivers in Romania

    Measures against aggressive drivers in Romania

    The EU’s strategic framework
    in terms of road safety over 2021-2030 has been designed to halve the number of
    fatalities and serious injuries on European roads by 2030. Its objective for
    2050 is zero fatalities and serious injuries.




    A look at the preliminary
    figures for the first six months of last year indicate a slight growth by 2% in
    the number of road accident fatalities as compared to the same period in 2020,
    a year affected by the impact of the pandemic over road circulation.




    As compared to the years
    2017-2019, to the 19% significant drop, have also contributed the new EU
    policies and safety rules. The situation has improved in Romania as well. While
    in 2019, the country was ranking first in the bloc in terms of road accident
    fatalities, 96 per one million people, a year later the country came fifth in
    the same ranking after Germany, France, Poland and Italy.




    Data for last year has been recently presented by Interior Minister Lucian
    Bode who underlined that ‘the entire road safety is a serious issue’ in
    Romania, and its level is significantly lower than the European average. A
    roughly 20% drop in severe road accidents has been registered and the number of
    people seriously injured has been reduced by nearly 31% as compared to 2020
    whereas the number of fatalities has risen by 8%.




    In order to
    improve the situation, an objective Romania has assumed including through its
    recovery and resilience plan, the executive in Bucharest has amended road
    traffic laws, which are now providing for higher fines and are clearly defining
    aggressive driving.


    So drivers exceeding
    the 70 km/hour speed limit are going to have their driving licences suspended
    for a period of 120 days and so will those infringing the rules at railway
    crossings.


    Here is
    Interior Minister Lucian Bode.






    Lucian Bode: The unjustified
    circulation of vehicles on highway emergency lanes will be fined between 260
    and 580 euros and the suspension of driving licence for 90 days. Turning and
    driving backwards on highways are punishable with licence suspensions of 120
    days.






    The new laws
    are also clearly defining the idea of aggressive driving, including the
    excessive use of horns or headlights, handbrake turns as well as other forms of
    road rage and aggressive driving. Fines for drivers in these cases who are also
    to have their licences suspended for 30 days, can go up to 150 euros.


    (bill)

  • Losses from extreme weather

    Losses from extreme weather

    Blizzards,
    snowfalls, fog and freezing rain caused lots of damage in Romania last week,
    when meteorologists issued several code yellow alerts for bad weather and dozen
    of reports warning of hydrometeorological hazards. According to the interior
    ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog, severe weather phenomena affected roads
    and households in Bucharest and some 50 towns and villages in 20 counties
    across the country. Several roads were blocked and lots of cars were damaged by
    falling trees. Two motorways were closed, just like 19 county roads and one
    national road. Last week, from Friday until Saturday, some 8,000 firefighters,
    police and gendarmes acted in order to save people trapped in their cars
    because of snow storms or thick fog in mountain areas. Also, they helped clear
    the trees and electricity poles which were felled down by the extreme weather
    phenomena and helped guide or redirect traffic during such missions. Thus,
    firefighters and road police cleared some 2,200 trees and 44 poles that damaged
    some 360 vehicles. Now temperatures are rising, and this is posing a new
    threat, as icicles are melting from roofs and trees:

    We
    are trying not to pass under eaves and balconies.


    It’s
    funny that every year we are faced with the same problem.


    It’s
    extremely dangerous for both cars and passengers, we must be extremely
    careful.


    It’s
    dangerous to walk under the trees, so I had to walk in the middle of the road.


    I don’t
    think I would have received any damages and I would have been so upset as I did
    not get to use the car, because I just bought it.


    At the weekend,
    the number of households which did not have electricity had reached 150,000
    according to data provided by the Energy Ministry, and the most affected
    counties were those in the south and south-east of the country. Also, air
    traffic was difficult, and delays were reported because of time-consuming
    deicing operations. Road traffic too was hampered by the ice that covered the
    power supply lines, and many trains were delayed because of that.

  • November 20, 2016

    November 20, 2016

    ELECTIONS – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has made public its “Guidelines for Romanian voters abroad, intended for the Romanian citizens who live abroad and want to cast their ballots in the December 11 parliamentary election. The guidelines include information on the various categories of eligible voters, the voting process, the opening hours of polling stations, the documents required in order to be able to vote and instructions regarding the vote by mail procedure. The Romanian citizens in the diaspora who have not chosen to vote by mail will be able to choose from among the 417 polling stations abroad. The largest number of polling stations set up abroad are in Italy (70), and Spain (50), while another 35 will be opened in the Republic of Moldova. There are 111 polling stations more than in the parliamentary elections of 2012 and 123 more than in the presidential election of 2014. Two years ago, thousands of Romanians living abroad were unable to vote because of the flawed organisation of the presidential election.



    BOOK FAIR – The Gaudeamus International Book and Education Fair, organised in Bucharest by Radio Romania, comes to an end today, when the trophies of the 23rd edition are also presented. This years guest of honour is China. Hundreds of publishers have taken part in Gaudeamus, which featured over 850 events, from book launches to meetings with authors, debates, recitals and workshops. The highlights of the Fair have included so far volumes devoted to the Royal House of Romania, and events devoted to the Romanian film industry, attended by directors Cristian Mungiu and Radu Jude. The USA will be the guest of honour in next years Fair.



    REMEMBRANCE DAY – Several events are organised in Romania today to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, commemorated on the third Sunday of November every year, at the initiative of the UN. Last year nearly 1,900 people died and over 9,000 others were severely injured in road traffic accidents, the Romanian Police has reported. According to statistics, 1 in 5 car crashes takes place around the capital city Bucharest, with Covasna County reporting the smallest number of accidents. Most incidents involve a vehicle and a pedestrian, and 8 out of 10 have been reported in dry weather. The latest European report indicates that Romania ranks second in the EU, after Latvia, in terms of the number of deaths in road traffic accidents.



    YIDDISH FESTIVAL – The TES FEST kicks off in Bucharest today, and is scheduled to come to a close next Sunday. The event is intended to showcase and promote the Yiddish culture. Taking part in the festival are professional theatre companies and klezmer bands from Romania, the USA, Israel, France and Poland. Book launches and workshops will also be organised as part of the event. This first edition of TES FEST is organised by the Jewish State Theatre in Bucharest, which celebrates 140 years since the establishment of the first professional Yiddish theatre in the world, in the north-eastern Romanian city of Iaşi, in 1876, by writer and artist Avram Goldfaden. According to the organisers, the festival targets the general public of all ages, and aims to contribute to the understanding and acceptance of different cultures.



    RAIL CRASH – More than 100 people died in India as the Indore-Patna express train derailed on Saturday night, the Uttar Pradesh state police announced. Another 150 people were injured, the police say. The causes of the tragedy, which occurred while most passengers were asleep, are yet to be identified. AFP mentions that the Indian railway network, one of the largest in the world, has major safety problems, but remains the main means of transportation in the country. The worst railway accident in India was in 1981, when 800 people died after a train fell into a river.




    RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team Saturday night defeated Canada, 21-16, in a test match played on the ”Arcul de Triumf” stadium in Bucharest. It was the first match between the two teams since the memorable performance at the 2015 World Cup, when the Romanian team managed the greatest reversal of fortune in the history of that competition, winning 17-15 after having been led 0-15. Next Saturday, in the last test match of the year, Romania takes on Uruguay, on the same stadium in Bucharest.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)