Nearly two in ten Romanian drivers (specifically 17.62 percent) admit having gotten behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, while only 16 percent of Romanians consider that intoxicated drivers represent the greatest risk to road safety, reveals a survey commissioned by the Spirits Romania professional association as part of a no drink-driving campaign.

According to the cited survey, over 60 percent of the respondents declared that they have acquaintances who got behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Asked about the reasons that determined them to drive while inebriated, six in ten people who admitted to having done this said that „they were not drunk, but only had a little amount of alcohol”, while a third (33.77 percent) explained that they only had a short and familiar stretch to drive. Also, 5 percent of the respondents reported peer pressure as the reason why they had decided to drink alcohol.

The survey reveals that, when traveling as a passenger and becoming aware that the driver was under the influence, more than 81 percent of the respondents chose to get out of the car, approximately 10 percent ignored this aspect, while 8 percent said they notified the police.

On the other hand, of those who admitted having in their circle at least one person who drove under the influence, a little over half (56 percent) said that they warned that person about the possible consequences of their act, and 30 percent reported that they took action to prevent the respective person from taking off in traffic. Only 13 percent chose not to intervene in any way.

Regarding the effectiveness of the current legislation, the survey shows that 42.33 percent of the respondents consider that it is strict enough but is not applied properly, while 41.96 percent are of the opinion that it is not restrictive enough to prevent traffic incidents.

Asked what they consider to be the greatest danger to road safety in Romania, only 23.89 percent indicated the lack of a sufficiently tough legislation to discourage inappropriate behavior. The majority (33.51 percent) declared that the main danger is the drivers’ non-compliance with the rules, while 15.89 percent said that the main danger is represented by the drivers who get behind the wheel after drinking.

Also, approximately equal shares of respondents identified as the main danger the overly permissive attitude of the police (13.81 percent) or the lack of adequate road infrastructure (12.9 percent).

Approximately two-thirds of the respondents (63.58 percent) reported having heard about the Anastasia Law that sends DUI drivers guilty of manslaughter to jail, and 63.4 percent mentioned that it will indeed have a positive impact and curb traffic accidents only if it is rigorously applied. The survey also showed that over a third (38.7 percent) of the respondents consider that the enforcement of tougher penalties is the best method to improve road safety, while over 25 percent said that the strict enforcement of existing legislation can lead to increased traffic safety.

The survey was conducted online at the request of the Spirits Romania Association, as part of the campaign „Not alCool at the wheel #DrinkResponsibly” and collected the opinions of 1,101 respondents. The campaign is aimed at preventing alcohol consumption while driving and is run between May and December 2024 in partnership with the Bucharest Traffic Brigade and with the support of the National Police Corps.

AGERPRES