In Romania, there is an average of one death every three accidents, while in Germany the average one death in every 63 accidents, and in Great Britain, one auto accident fatality in every 93 accidents. At fault are the faulty designs of certain road sections, late maintenance works, the lack of ring roads. Auto traffic in Romania is excessively concentrated on national roads. Motorways, useful as they are, are not always priority no 1 and nor do they represent a solution to all traffic problems. One-third of national roads are in a terrible state, infrastructure is unsafe and an obstacle to economic development. All of the aforementioned reasons SAR experts say, lead to accidents with a very large number of victims.
Moreover, the study “Works under repair? SAR report on transport policy in Romania,” shows that the network of county and local roads should be urgently redone, so that a great part of the existing auto traffic could be redirected, which requires only a percentage point of the funding allotted to motorway construction.
Another conclusion of the study: in Romania, the cost of building a kilometre of motorway is twice more expensive than that in other countries in central and eastern Europe, such as Poland or Hungary. Moreover, some of the maintenance and operation costs are also double the average price in the European Union or the United States. The current institutional structure of Romania’s national railway operator CFR and the National Company of Motorways and National Roads in Romania (CNADR) are financially bankrupt actually. Instead of operating independently, they suffer are year in and year out the impact of political changes at the Ministry of Transports. At the same time, there is noticed a trend of substantial increase in auto traffic, at the expense of railway traffic. If the trend continues, the passenger section of the CFR (CFR Pasageri) risks to go bankrupt by 2020 from lack of customers.
Money, programmes and … fanciful strategies
Romania only has 264 kilometres of built motorways and numerous strategies for expansion which however have been dragging their feet for years now. By comparison, Portugal, a state half Romania’s size, has 1,500 kilometres of built motorway. SAR experts say that the motorways and expressways announced for the interval 2007-2013 are fanciful, as they suppose an investment absorption capacity of EUR 2 to 3 bln per year, although the actual absorption capacity never exceeds EUR 500 M. These great national road and railway projects are advancing at an extremely slow place, despite Community funding being available for several years now.
Compromise solutions: sensitising the public
If a great many years pass until infrastructure-related problems are settled, the Government decided to at least take different types of measures. The Tariceanu Cabinet decided Wednesday that the World Commemoration Day of Victims of Auto Accidents should be held on the third Sunday of November. Several ministries – Interior, Health, Transports, and Education, respectively, will organise public awareness and sensitising campaigns, together with NGOs, other legal entities and private individuals.
Severe accident at Mangalia
Four more persons died in a severe auto accident at the entry to Mangalia. The car with the four passengers on board, running at 150 kilometres/hours, hit an oncoming minibus. The four passengers in the car died right away and three of the passengers in the minibus were injured – two of them seriously. The minibus driver broke one leg in the accident, and local traffic was detoured. According to Police, high speed and driver tiredness could be responsible for the accident.
by Alina Munteanu
...and you all thought I was exaggerating the dangers of driving in Romania. Turns out it's actually much worse than even I thought!
- from "Nine O'Clock", an English language newspaper published in Bucharest
1 comment:
....and Lisa always wonders why I'd rather take a train! When are you coming to visit?
Post a Comment