Parliament gives local police officers in Romania bigger traffic role

A bill that was recently approved by the Romanian legislative gives local police officers more robust powers when it comes to enforcing parking and traffic regulations.

The draft law was recently adopted by Romania’s Chamber of Deputies and approved by president Iohannis.

The new rules stipulate that it is mandatory for the owner of a vehicle to identify the person to whom he entrusted his vehicle at the request of the traffic or local police.

The law also gives local police officers the ability to directly fine drivers. Until now, local police could not contact the owner of the car to find out the identity of the driver. Nor could local police officers fine a driver who parked illegally – unless they caught him or her in the act.

In Romania, fines are given according to points, each point being RON 145 (EUR 29.6) in value. In the case of cars registered as belonging to a company, fines can go even higher, reaching up to RON 14,500 (EUR 2,959).

The initiators of the project argued that the phenomenon of illegal stops, parking, and stationary cars has increased due to the increasing number of vehicles on public roads in Romania, according to Biziday. They hope that with the new legislation empowering local police, the number of traffic violations will be reduced.

(Photo source: Vlad Ispas | Dreamstime.com)