Fine of 1160 lei for drivers who make this mistake

Recently, the Highway Code was changed, after the Government adopted decision no. 130/2023 by which the Regulation on the application of the Government’s Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2002 regarding traffic on public roads in Romania.

The new rules can leave you without a license quickly or you can receive a stinging fine for seemingly trivial things. There are also situations that can make you pay extremely stingy fines. For example, cars that have problems with the lighting system should not be driven on public roads. Otherwise, if you risk going out on the street with a car with defects in the lighting system, you risk a huge fine.

According to the Highway Code, if you have burnt out bulbs, which do not work properly or which are not homologated, then you risk being penalized, according to the rules in force. In 2023, the fine point was capped at 145 lei per point, but that does not mean that the fine will be small. Drivers who have problems with the lighting system and are caught by the police risk a fine between 870 and 1160 lei.

What the law provides according to the Road Code of 2023

Art. 101
(1) The following acts committed by natural persons constitute contraventions and are sanctioned with a fine provided for in class III of sanctions:

11. driving with a motor vehicle and agricultural or forestry tractor, trailer or tram with malfunctions in the lighting or sound warning system or when they are missing;

Art. 112

(1) The registration or registration certificate or its substitute proof is retained by the traffic police in the following cases:

c) the vehicle drives at night without headlights or signaling lamps, lighting and signaling devices, fluorescent-reflective means, provided for in the technical norms in force;

d) the vehicle drives with major faults in the lighting-signaling systems or with devices other than those approved;