The Foundation For The Defense Of The Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) sued the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI), asking the court to oblige the institution to issue the necessary rules for the implementation of Law No. 20/2022 on defensive driving. The action follows the ministry's refusal to implement the law on defensive driving, a vital tool for reducing road fatalities in Romania, which has remained inoperative for almost four years.
In the application filed with the court, FACIAS requested that the Ministry of Transport be ordered urgently to issue a ministerial order establishing the rules for authorizing driving schools and driving instructors in the field of defensive driving. FACIAS is also calling for the immediate regulation of the procedure for accrediting road safety teachers and instructors specializing in this type of training.
The decision to take legal action comes after the Ministry of Transport admitted, following a prior complaint submitted by FACIAS in December 2025, that it had not fulfilled its legal obligation. In its response, the institution said the rules are only at "draft level " and are subject to internal procedural steps.
To justify the delay in drafting the rules on defensive driving, the Ministry of Transport cites a "complex administrative mechanism " and unclear tax aspects of defensive driving courses. This inaction by the authorities is blocking the right of young people aged between 18 and 26 to free defensive driving courses, as required by law.
FACIAS considers that since the entry into force of Law No. 20/2022 on January 19, 2022, the authorities have had sufficient time to go through all the necessary administrative steps. The delay in the adoption of the rules of the legislation on defensive driving is inadmissible, given that the legal framework should have been finalized years ago.
FACIAS points out that on average, according to existing data, about three people lose their lives every day and more than 95 are injured in road accidents. Romania is thus among the most dangerous countries in the European Union in terms of safety on public roads.