Haulers in Romania could bring 40,000 trucks to protest, threaten to block traffic in Bucharest

Haulers have threatened to rally 40,000 trucks and vehicles for a national protest if the authorities don’t do anything to stop the increase in mandatory vehicle insurance (RCA) prices. They have asked the Government and the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) to come up with a strategy to stop the rise in the RCA prices until Wednesday, March 16, said Vasile Stefanescu, president of the Confederation of Licensed Transport Operators and Haulers from Romania (COTAR), quoted by local News.ro. If they don’t receive an answer, transport organizations will meet and prepare a national protest with 30,000-40,000 trucks, Stefanescu added. He said that the protesters may decide to block Bucharest’s ring road, which would paralyze the traffic in Romania’s capital. The transporters also protested in Bucharest’s Victoriei Square in December. “What was in December in the Victoriei Square was just a warm up. If we block the Capital’s ring road, it’s over, no one gets in or out of the city,” Stefanescu said. According to the data published by the Financial Supervisory Authority, the average premium for the 12-month policies for trucks and passenger transport vans rose by 42% compared to June 2015. However, the transporters claim that in some cases the RCA tariffs went up threefold. editor@romania-insider.com