Land Forces Academy Review Vol. XXII, No 4(88), 2017 PRACTICAL ASPECTS REGARDING CONDITIONS OF CLOSING TRAFFIC AND SETTING TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS FOR BOTH THE EXECUTION OF WORKS IN PUBLIC ROADS AREA AND/OR THE PROTECTION OF ROADS Vasile TUDOR Police Inspectorate of Sibiu County, Romania [email protected] ABSTRACT Institutions and authorities involved in organizing, structuring and signaling traffic are represented, on one hand, by the Romanian Police through its structures of traffic police as the main body with responsibilities in the field and, on the other, by the administrators of public roads depending on material and territorial competence. The administrators of public roads are those mentioned in the Government Ordinance no. 43/1997 regarding the legal regime of roads, as amended to date, namely: the National Company of Administration of Roads Infrastructure subordinated to the Ministry of Transportation – for national roads, the County Councils – for county roads and the Local Councils – for local interest roads, national or county road sectors, including artwork, arrangements and related accessories, located in built-up urban areas. In their turn, the County and Local Councils operate in the organization and systematization of traffic by both the Commission of Systematization of Roads and the committees of single agreement. KEYWORDS: road systematization, road signs, road administrator, legislation 1. Aspects Regarding the of the traffic police, to close or set Conditions of Closing Traffic and Setting restrictions for vehicles and pedestrians on Traffic Restrictions for the Execution of the road sectors specified for a limited Works in Public Roads and/or to Protect period of time for the execution of legally Roads authorized works taking place in public The road administrators referred to in roads or to protect them and road users the Articles 21 and 22 of the Government (MAI & MT, 2000). Ordinance no.43/1997 regarding the roads, Closing or setting temporary traffic approved by the Law no. 82/1998 and restrictions in order to protect roads and road republished, may approve, with the consent users are made in the following situations: DOI: 10.1515/raft-2017-0033 © 2017. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License. 244 a) during the blizzard, heavy snow, In case of traffic incidents or if road icy roads, flooding or in other weather safety is at risk due to natural phenomena, conditions which generate the blocking of the traffic police or the public road roads, vehicle access to affected areas is administrator with the consent of the traffic prohibited in order to operatively rehabilitate police, may order temporary restrictions of the situation using specialized equipment; traffic, informing road users about the b) during the winter-spring period, ban, duration and diverted routes. there can be put “thaw barriers” in order Also, the Article 5 of the to protect the road system by prohibiting aforementioned law stipulates that public vehicle access with a maximum authorised road administrator is obliged to take load exceeding a certain value and by immediate measures to eliminate the causes restricting speed, except, as appropriate, of road incidents due to the configuration, public passenger transportation. status or failure of the technical equipment. The public road administrator is In case of traffic incidents, the public obliged to ensure its viability road administrator is required to clean to (The Romanian Government, 2006). remove the obstructions on the carriageway In line with the Article 4 of the and rehabilitate the road as before. Regulation implementing G.E.O. The applicant of closing or setting no. 195/2002 on public roads, republished, restrictions of traffic for the execution of the closure or creation of restrictions of works in public roads, natural or legal traffic for vehicles or pedestrians on persons will address in writing to the public roads can be done only by limiting authorities who are responsible to issue traffic levels for the protection of road consents and permits. sectors or for the execution of works, as The competences of issuing and determined by law. approving the closure of traffic are presented in the table below: Table no. 1 The competences of issuing and approving the closure of traffic Category Competences of issue No. Duration of public road consent approval Motorways and (E) The Traffic Police The National Administration 1 European national Any Department in the General of Roads roads Inspectorate of Police The Traffic Police Department Other national roads More than The National Administration 2 in the General than the „E”* roads 5 days of Roads Inspectorate of Police The Traffic Police Department Other national roads The Regional Body of Roads 3 Up to 5 days in the County than the „E” roads and Bridges Inspectorate of Police The Traffic Police Department in the County Inspectorate County and village of Police or the Traffic Police 4 Any The road administrator roads Brigade in the General Department of Police of Bucharest 5 Proximity roads Any The Police in town/village** The road administrator 6 Streets*** Any The Police in town/village** The road administrator The competences of issuing and approving the establishment of traffic restrictions are presented in the table below: 245 Table no. 2 The competences of issuing and approving the establishment of traffic restrictions Category of public Competences of issuue No. Category of works road consent approval – rehabilitation of roads The Traffic Police – increase the traffic Motorways and Department in the The National 1 capacity national roads General Inspectorate Administration of Roads – modernization of Police – set “barriers thaw” The Traffic Police – works that affect the (E) European Department in the The Regional Body 2 road area, other than national roads County Inspectorate of Roads and Bridges those mentioned at no. 1 of Police The Traffic Police – works that affect the Department in the 3 Other national roads road area, other than The National Roads Department County Inspectorate those mentioned at no. 1 of Police The Traffic Police Department in the County Inspectorate of Police or the County and 4 All kind of works Traffic Police The road administrator village roads Brigade in the General Department of Police of Bucharest The Police in 5 Proximity roads All kind of works The road administrator town/village The Police in 6 Streets All kind of works The road administrator town/village The application and documentation to The original application and close or set restrictions of traffic will be documentation will be submitted at least 30 submitted as follows: days before works begin, if the competence ● The Regional Body of Roads and of issuing documentation and approval for Bridges Subordinated to the National closure or settting of restrictions of traffic fall Company of Administration of Road under the responsibility of the Traffic Police Infrastructure which administrates the Department or to the National Company of respective road sector, for the situations Administration of Road Infrastructure, mentioned in Table 1 – no. 1, 2, 3 and and, at least 20 days before in other cases. no. 6*** (as appropriate) as well as those in If the competences of issuing Table 2 – no. 1, 2 and 6** (as appropriate) documentation falls under the responsibility (**excepting the streets belonging to national of the Traffic Police Department of the routes and that are in line with the provisions General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police mentioned at point 1, 2 and 3 as appropriate.); and the approval, in its turn, under the ● The Department of National responsibility of the National Company of Roads which manages the respective road Motorways and National Roads in Romania, sector for the situations mentioned in the documentation accompanied by proposals Table 2 – no. 3; ● The road administrator for the of the Traffic Police Department and the situations referred to at no. 4, 5 and 6 of the Regional Body of Roads and Bridges will be Tables 1 and 2. submitted to the National Company of Motorways and National Roads by the 246 Regional Body of Roads and Bridges, at least traffic; the reports of observation signed by 20 days before the proposed deadline of the the representatives of the applicant, the road closure or settting restrictions of traffic. administrator and the traffic police, after The National Company of checking the field, completed obligatorily Administration of Road Infrastructure in with data referring to the type and condition Romania, based on the documentation of pavement, category and technical submitted, requests the consent of the Traffic condition of bridges, geometrical elements of Police Department of the General roads, route gradients, etc.; if traffic is Inspectorate of the Romanian Police for the diverted on routes that involve several approval of the closure or settting of administrative – territorial categories of roads, restrictions of traffic. the documentation and consent will include The demand for closure or setting the consent of these roads administrators. restrictions of traffic will include the When implementing control in the following information: the applicant’s full field and writing the report, the name, address, telephone number, fax, and representatives of both all these road data identification document for natural administrations and the Road Service persons or tax code for legal persons; the road within the County Police Inspectorate will category (national, county, municipal, obligatorily participate. proximity street) and the kilometer positions In order to approve the closure or to limit the sectors where works will develop, setting restrictions of traffic, the or the number of buildings, in case of streets; representatives of the public road the category of work to be executed, the administrator and the traffic police will execution duration and the period for which review the documentation submitted and they request the closure or setting restrictions will determine appropriate measures to be of traffic; the impact on traffic: the closure or met to achieve safely road works.