Nearly 30 Serious Car Accidents in the Past 24 Hours

The situation on 17 July on "Trakiya" motorway is considerably calmer compared to yesterday, reports Tihomir Ignatov for BNT. The Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) announced that the main motorways of the country are now open to traffic and accessible, and large congestions are not expected.

Drivers are advised to be cautious in the regions near "Petrohan" passage because of decreased visibility and fog. Another problematic area is near Kapitan Andreevo border crossing (border with Turkey).There is a 5km queue of vehicles at the Bulgarian side due to slower processing of documents at the checkpoint.

This year will likely be a repeat of the situation from last year, with many victims on the road during the summer season, the chairman of the Association of the Victims of Road Accidents, Vladimir Todorov commented for BNT. July, August and September are the bloodiest months, Todorov said, it's as if there is a "war" on the roads, he added.

According to him, changes to the laws are unlikely to reduce the number of casualties.

The chairman of the Association of the Victims of Road Accidents, Vladimir Todorov: The truth is that the traffic police regrettably do not have the necessary resources. There aren't enough investments for cameras on the motorway! There are only 3-4 cameras on the way from Sofia to Bourgas, there should be at least 40 - 50. Efforts are being made to improve technical security, but in the end it is not enough. Most importantly there needs to be a way to sanction drivers immediately.

The Association will hold another protest on Wednesday, July 19, which aims to bring an end to "the war on the roads."