Romanian street sign warns drivers of 'drunk pedestrians'

Street signs warning Romanian drivers to be careful of drunken pedestrians lying on roads were erected by road safety chiefs worried about the "despairing" levels of accidents.

By Andrew Hough
Published: 3:30PM GMT 09 Mar 2010

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”.

The 10 road signs, which also show a person crawling on their knees while clutching a glass in one hand, were erected in popular nightspot areas close to the city's bars and restaurants.

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 the town, which is more than 300 miles west of the Romanian capital Bucharest.

"We are a border town and have lots of cars thundering through here all the time," he told local media.

"But we also have a very vibrant nightlife and the two don't mix.

“We have to target the drivers because by the time they get to this state, the pedestrians are beyond caring.”

He added: “In recent years… some traffic accidents (have) resulted, in some cases, even with deceased (people).

“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”.

Residents said they found the signs amusing.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/romania/7405695/Romanian-street-sign-warns-drivers-of-drunk-pedestrians.html