BULGARIA HAS THE HIGHEST ROAD FATALITY RATES AMONG ALL EU COUNTRIES

Bulgaria has the highest annual road fatality rates among all EU member states, with 98 dead each for every million people, a road safety report for 2016 said.

Experts from Great Britain Britain and Austria advise the country to improve the road safety situation. At a seminar organized by the Bulgarian Red Cross on 30th of March, they shared best practices with representatives of the Bulgarian police, state and local authorities.

Bulgaria has undertaken to halve the number of victims of road accidents by 2020 compared to 2010, and the number of serious injuries by 2030. Until now, however, progress is slower than planned.

Alexi Kesyakov, Secretary of State Public Commission on road safety issues says that constant training is needed, starting from birth until the child’s inclusion in life - in the family, in kindergarten, in school, everywhere.

Heather Ward, Co-Chair of Road Safety Index: Besides improving driver training, the permitted maximum speed needs to be reduced because speeding is the biggest killer. We also need to encourage young people to put their belt, to not drink alcohol and not take drugs. These are the main changes that have a huge contribution to improving road safety and reducing fatalities.