Opening Ceremony - Constantin Niculescu

IRU XXVIII^th World Congress
Under the Patronage of the President of Romania, Ion Iliescu

Opening Ceremony

Constantin Niculescu
President of “Automobil Clubul Roman”
Deputy in the Romanian Parliament

Dear Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Road transport is an important issue for mankind and globalization is essential for accelerating economic and social activities worldwide.

Automobil Clubul Roman, the echo of over 3 million motorists, aims at supporting the major interests of this important share of the Romanian civil society and at promoting road traffic.

This is the reason I am pleased to salute, on behalf of the Executive Committee of Automobil Clubul Roman, the meeting of the International Road Transport Union Congress held in Bucharest these days.

Dear participants,

Automobil Clubul Roman will soon celebrate a century since its foundation and, during all this historic time has been acting as one of the most important NGOs in Romania. It is worth to mention that Romania is one of the first 10 European countries that introduced the automobile into public traffic and in the summer of 1904 took place – under the governance of ACR – the first driving license exam for “ automobile owners”, as they were called in the old language. Several years later, the “Roads Service”, created within the ACR system offered over 600 traffic signs to the Ministry of Public Works. Last, but not the least, I would like to remind about the Association of Romanian Motorists that attended the International Road Congress, in February 1909 in Paris.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The ACR has always had strong connections with the road transport activities meaning today over two thirds of the total volume of the public, tourist and good transport. Is also significant that during the last decade the number of drivers in Romania doubled. We could say that this is an expression of modern times, increasing mobility and awareness of benefits of traffic education.

On the other hand, the results are also the increasing traffic volume on roads, and, consequently, the number of traffic accidents.

Our association, has always been concerned about how to decrease the number of traffic events and, following the example of similar European auto clubs we created the logistics for road assistance in every one of the 42 ACR county branches all over the country. There is an Alarm Center in Bucharest working 24 hours a day where one can call for assistance from anywhere on Romanian territory and from where a patrol car for breakdown repairs, towage or transport would be sent. We currently experience in Bucharest a new system for road assistance, called “ACR – Starter”. I would also like to add that we prepare a new service, the helicopter emergency system for saving lives of victims due to severe traffic accidents.

During the last years we developed activities for traffic education for children and youth by implementing the School Labs for Traffic Education and we make financial efforts for supporting them. Last autumn we launched the Mobile Lab for Traffic Education that goes to schools and playgrounds. We have always been concerned with the decrease of traffic accidents that are seen as the first cause of premature death and the third cause in the global structure of death.

Dear participants,

Automobil Clubul Roman is a member of two world organizations: the “Alliance Internationale de Tourisme” and “Federation Internationale de l’Automobile”, and also in their management. We are involved in debates regarding traffic safety and new rules for road traffic.

The new challenges of road traffic urge us to prove the maturity and practice of a dialogue in order to find together long-term solutions. Perhaps one of the most urgent problems to be solved in Romania, considering the heterogeneous structure of the auto park, is the heavy trucks for goods transport and the auto vehicles living together on the roads.

Traffic accidents are a reality and the decrease only in its human causes, without considering the roads and the vehicles will lead to unilateral strategies.

I hope during this World Congress, started today, there will be a deep analysis regarding these issues so that the negative implications of road transports on peoples’ lives would be decreased as much as possible.

Finally, allow me to wish great success to the Congress!

Thank you!

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