Open and transparent

At a different stage of consideration in the Supreme Council there are a number of legislative initiatives related to road safety issues in the republic. This topic always causes controversial judgments in society. In order to debate and try to dot the i, the relevant parliamentary committee initiated parliamentary hearings. They were invited to attend the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Automobile Inspection Department , representatives of the prosecutor's office, the judicial community, the service of judicial executors, and transport companies.

Deputies Galina Antyufeyeva and Oleg Petrik are the authors of the legislative initiative amending the law “On Road Safety”. They were inspired by the numerous appeals of citizens to a representative body of power to draft the law. Drivers report that their violations of the Rules of the road, in particular, speeding, are recorded secretly. This is expressed in the fact that the technical means of photo and video recording, including radars that record the speed of the vehicle, are installed on civilian cars with tinted windows, including those in motion, and at the same time by persons not wearing uniforms. This causes reasonable complaints from drivers who subsequently receive so-called letters of happiness indicating specific amounts of administrative fines. Confirmation of their dissatisfaction was the results of a sociological survey conducted by TSV on this topic. More than 80% of more than two thousand respondents opposed the fact that their violations were recorded secretly. The corresponding video was shown to the participants in the parliamentary hearings.

Continuing the theme, any system of photo, video recording should be preceded by a road sign informing about its work. It is clear that constantly migrating cars with a radar ignore this situation.

The amendments to the law “On Road Traffic Safety”, adopted by parliamentarians in the first reading, require officers to use only official vehicles with a blue flashing light when performing functional duties on organizing traffic. It is also written that photo and video recording of offenses, including measuring the speed of vehicles should be carried out by inspectors of the traffic militia on official vehicles in stationary mode.

A special position in this regard was expressed by Minister of Internal Affairs Ruslan Mova. He considers that the existing practice is based on foreign experience and is justified. The leitmotif of his speech was the words "No violation - no fine".

Representatives of transport companies noted that evidence collected in violation of applicable law is not considered by the court. Nevertheless, they spoke out unambiguously for the functioning of the stationary cameras for photo and video recordings of the Safe City system, but with the obligatory presence of warning signs. In addition, they repeatedly referred to the experience of neighbors, in the same Moldova car owners are informed in advance where the cameras will determine the speed of the vehicle.

The vice speaker also informed that, at the suggestion of the Government, 500 thousand rubles were allocated in the budget of the current year for the development of the Safe City system, the basis of which are stationary video cameras.

Opinions expressed during the hearings will be taken into account by deputies in preparing the law-in-draft for a second reading.