Relatives of Road Accident Victims Stage a National Protest
A protest against “war on roads” was held on 19 July by relatives and friends of victims of road traffic accidents from Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas, Rousse and Mezdra. The protesters insist on developing a policy on road safety issues and on the establishment of a government body involved in managing the risk of road accidents.
The protest started at 5 pm in front of "St. Alexander Nevski" cathedral in Sofia, and the participants will come with their cars to the 20th kilometer of Hemus Motorway, in the direction of Varna, to announce their demands. The idea of the protest comes from two widows of victims of car crashes on Hemus motorway in April this year - Ivan Dimitrom and Yoto Achchiyski. Ivan Dimitorv was roadside assistance worker, who died in April after he was hit by car while helping victims of another car accident on the motorway.
Traffic Police representative told BNT morning programme that new measures against those who violate road traffic rules. 18,000 road traffic violations have been registered for a week.
According to statistics of the Ministry of Interior, the summer months are usually with the highest death rate caused by road traffic accidents - an average of 200 people die in car crashes. According to other data, nearly 4,300 vehicles are with cancelled registration because they were driven by unlicensed drivers, the traffic police said.
