Drink driving is passu00e9 in Romania where street signs warn drivers of inebriated revellers creating havoc on roads
Drink driving is passe in Romania where street signs warn drivers of inebriated revellers creating havoc on roads
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Sign Language: Theu00a0ten bright red signs were erected by worried road safety officials in popular areas of the town of Pecica |
Street signs warning Romanian drivers to be careful of drunken pedestrians lying on roads have been erected by road safety chiefs worried about the "despairing" levels of accidents.u00a0 Officials in Pecica, a village town about 13 miles from the Hungarian border in the country's west, ordered the bright red signs, complete with the phrase, "Attention -- Drunks".
Cue from Germany
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Peter Antal, the Pecica Mayor, said the idea came after he visited an unnamed town in Germany, which had installed similar signs.
He said officials took action after a "despairing" number of accidents in the town, which has a population of about 13,000, caused by drunken revellers, with some even resulting in fatalities.
He said it was not motorists' fault but blamed the town's pedestrians, many of whom were not able to look out for themselves as they walked around.
"We are a border town and have lots of cars thundering through here all the time. But we also have a very vibrant nightlife and the two don't mix," he told mediapersons.
"We have to target drivers because by the time they get to this state, the pedestrians are beyond caring."
Antal added, "We have thought about different options (on how) we can stop this and we decided that first step was to mount these signs. We must warn drivers that sometimes people who have little control over their actions can suddenly appear in the road."
He denied the signs would send out the wrong message to the town's residents, claiming they were a "positive contribution".u00a0 Residents said they found the signs amusing.
