Cars can now be towed in Romania if parked illegally

The Romanian Government has changed the regulations for towing the cars that are parked illegally on the road or on sidewalks. According to the Government Decision adopted on Thursday, the road police officer can decide that the car has to be towed if the vehicle is parked illegally on the road. This measure can be taken if the car is parked in an area where the voluntary stop is forbidden, in an area where parking is not allowed, on public roads with a width of less than 6 meters, or in places that block the access routes serving the properties located close to public roads. The measure will not be taken if people are inside the car, according to a statement from the Government. Moreover, the rules don’t apply if the vehicle in question is involved in interventions or emergency missions. The normative acts also establishes that the towed car will not be taken to the place of storage on its own wheels, and the car will no longer be taken to the place of storage if, by the time this happens, the owner or user of the car arrives at the place from where the car is lifted and agrees to bear the costs of the towing operation. Moreover, the towed cars will be stored in special places only, and their safety is the responsibility of the public road administrator or, where applicable, the local public administration. The towed car will be given back to its owner only after the fee is paid, based on the documents attesting that he is the owner of the vehicle. When it comes to parking on sidewalks, the Government Decision also brought some changes. Thus, cars can be parked on sidewalks only if they are arranged for this purpose. However, parking places can’t be arranged on sidewalks if the places are less than 10 meters from intersections, public transport stations, or pedestrian crossings. Bucharest mayor wants more traffic police officers on the streets, sanctions for drivers who park illegally Bucharest authorities plan to take more measures to solve the traffic problem Romanian interior minister wants to solve the problem of cars parked on sidewalks Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com