Warning : drunk people crossing!

Officials of 'Pecica', a village located in the country's west about 13 miles from the Hungarian border, have had enough of drivers running over drunken citizens minding their own business late at night in the middle of the street, struggling to cross or simply having a well justified nap. So 10 bright red signs reading "Drunk Citizens" have been ordered and manufactured in an attempt to save some lives.

The signs depict a crawling person holding a rather large bottle and have been erected in popular nightspots close to the village's bars and restaurants.  The Pecica Mayor, Peter Antal, said that the officials took action after a "despairing" number of accidents happened in the village, some of which were deaths. "We are a border town and have lots of cars thundering through here all the time," the Mayor said.  "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.”

The Mayor did not believe that the signs would send out the wrong message about the village's residents, but that they were a "positive contribution".  The village's residents appeared to be amused by the signs but nobody disagreed with the warnings.

The story featured in The Telegraph and the mayor is cited saying that the idea came after he visited a town In Germany, which had similar signs. After getting excessive media coverage, the local authorities decided to replace the “drunk citizens” warnings with “other dangers” ones. Was it bad publicity?

Trying to avoid road accidents caused by intoxicated persons, the mayor and the local council made the small Romanian town of Pecica known around the globe. Any publicity is good publicity, right?

Author's note:  this is definitely something Boris Johnson should look into.

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