site.btaRoad Traffic Accident Victims' Relatives, Friends Protest on Reflection Day

A protest was staged by friends and family of traffic accident victims in front of the Palace of Justice here on Saturday, which is day of reflection before the June 9 elections for members of the national and European parliaments. It was organized by the association "Angels on the Road", and similar protests are organized in other cities across the country today. The protest is titled "A day of reflection for all politicians".

Relatives of people who have been killed in car accidents put up their photos on the building's stairs, as well as posters with different messages calling for maximum sentences for drunk, drugged and impudent drivers, describing the judicial system in Bulgaria as the enemy of the victims and protector of the killers, among others.

"We want an explicit distinction between incidents that happen under force majeure circumstances and traffic accident deaths caused by negligent drivers, who may not have wanted to cause someone's death, but nevertheless drove under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or were merely reckless, said Ninella Varbanova.

Also at the protest was Nikolina Petkova, the mother of Filip, who died after he was hit on a pedestrian crossing in Sofia. She urged the future MPs, when they sit in Parliament, "to think about the people and the most precious thing - our children".

"When we start to apply effective sentences, showing that we will not be tolerant to those who drive recklessly, drunk, high, to those who kill on the road, then we will see the results," Petkova said.