site.btaInterior Minister Holds Meeting with Mayors, Regional Governors, State Agencies on Road Safety

Caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov held a meeting with the mayors of major cities, regional governors, the leaderships of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Executive Agency Road Transport Administration, the Road Infrastructure Agency and the State Agency for Road Safety, the Interior Ministry said here on Thursday.

Ilkov said that road safety concerns everyone every day, but no one can deal with it alone. “We allocate significant resources and our efforts are yielding results, but we need to join forces for even greater effectiveness”.

According to Ilkov, the Interior Ministry invests resources and efforts in the right direction, which is proved by the statistics, according to which road accidents and casualties have decreased. In the year to date, the number of serious road accidents was 6,063, which is 193 fewer than a year earlier. There were also 75 fewer deaths so far this year. Road checks are up - 618,000 more this year. Drivers with more than 1.2 per mille of alcohol (0.012) were 248 fewer. These results can be attributed both to a recent change in the law, which criminalizes this offence and punishes it by impounding the vehicle, and to the proactive actions of police officers with powers under the Road Traffic Act, the Minister added.

Pedestrian deaths remain a serious problem, according to the traffic police report. So far this year, 87 pedestrians have been killed, 59 of them in settlements.

State Road Safety Agency Chairperson Malina Krumova stressed that to maintain the downward trend in traffic accidents and victims of traffic accidents, all organizations taking part in the meeting need to interact. In her words, the idea to help municipalities and provide them with funds is a step in the right direction.

Road Infrastructure Agency Chairman Yordan Valchev said the institution supports the idea of reducing the maximum speed limit on motorways.

The possibility of building video surveillance in settlements and giving more powers to municipal police were also discussed.