Lucian Bode: We're witnessing real carnage on the roads; in the last 3 years - an average of 18 serious accidents

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Lucian Bode, declared on Wednesday that in Romania "we are witnessing a real carnage on the roads", which places our country "on a not at all honorable place" in the hierarchy of European countries, with a high number of deaths due to road accidents, Agerpres reports.

"In the last three years, an average of 18 serious accidents occurred every day, resulting in five casualties every day. Every day, for 3 years, five people die," Bode told a ceremony organized on the occasion of the entry receiving 45 mobile laboratories for road education to be used by Romanian Police.

Lucian Bode pointed out that the aim of the Police should be to reach as many people with educational-preventive messages as possible.

"These mobile educational laboratories, worth about 1.5 million euros, purchased in a large European project of about 5.2 million euros, aim to raise awareness and responsibility of all actors in society, who from the position of motorists are exposed to major risks when they violate traffic rules," Bode said.

According to data from the first two months of 2022, the upward trend is maintained in terms of the number of people who died as a result of road accidents, with an increase of about 8% compared to the same period last year: 275 people died in 637 road accidents, in the first months of the year.

The three main causes of serious accidents have remained the same for the past three years: speeding, indiscipline in pedestrian traffic and failure to give priority to passing, the minister stressing the need to intensify awareness campaigns.

Bode added that a package of measures is being implemented to limit this social phenomenon, which has an alarming manifestation, such as Emergency Ordinance 1/2022 - tightening the regime applicable to road traffic, adopted earlier this year, which already produces effects, as well as a traffic monitoring project.