site.btaBulgaria Had Highest Fatalities per Million Inhabitants in Europe in 2023 - Union of Bulgarian Motorists

Bulgaria had the largest number of road fatalities, 82, per million inhabitants in Europe last year. By comparison, Sweden had 21 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2023, said  Emil Panchev, Chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Motorists (UBM), at a forum on dangerous driving behaviour and road safety. Panchev quoted data from a UBM study.

So far this year, there have been 5,161 road accidents after violations committed by drivers, about 95% of all accidents, said Commissioner Maria Boteva from the Traffic Police Department of the Interior Ministry. Only about 5% of road accidents involved drink or drug driving. There were 3,962 cases of drivers exceeding the 1.2 per mille blood alcohol content. 

Many of those drivers are potentially dangerous, but society is becoming increasingly sensitive to this. The authorities' efforts are bearing fruit - organized checks and making sure the roads are saturated with police teams to control traffic create a sense of security, Boteva said.

UBM data show that the most common cause of a traffic accident is risky driving behavior - speeding, drink or drug driving, or distraction. The most common risk is mobile phone use. It was noted during the discussion that many drivers do not recognize the risks on the road.

"Road safety starts with the family - it is a shared responsibility between road users and institutions," Panchev said.