Romanian police want to make tailgating, needlessly flashing lights at drivers to stress them, and other driver harassment illegal, they said Monday.
Police are proposing fines up to 2,900 lei (about 590 euros) under a new law on what will be called “aggressive driving.”
The decision comes after Romania repeatedly took top place in the most dangerous place to drive in Europe, Digi24 reported. Romania has more accidents and deaths than any other country in the European Union.
On Sunday, in an apparent road rage incident, a bus passenger was crushed to death after two heavy truck drivers deliberately jammed a bus in a driving dispute.
Under current legislation, motorists risk having their licenses suspended for 90 days if they drive more than 50 kilometers an hour over the legal speed limit.
Police want to impose more restrictions.
„Going more than 70 kilometers an hour over the speed limit will mean a suspended license for 120 days,” police spokesman Bogdan Ghebaur said.
Police also want to introduce stiffer punishments for motorists who fail to give priority or who do illegal overtaking. Currently they risk a 30-day suspension, which police recommend doubling.
Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly.
More than 1,800 people died in road accidents in 2019. There were fewer deaths in 2020 due to the lockdown which came at the start of the pandemic. There was a fraction of the usual traffic on the road for two months of the year and less traffic in other months.
Excessive speed is the main cause of traffic fatalities. Failing to give priority to pedestrians crossing the road, and illegal overtaking maneuvers are other reasons.
Romania had more traffic deaths in 2020 than any other country in EU
