Seventeen percent of polled Bulgarians admit they have driven cars after drinking some alcohol. Although the poll is not national, the data are alarming enough. The study was carried out in the period August-October 2013 by the Open Youth Institute for Research Education and Development in the framework of the Road Safety in South East European Regions Program.

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According to the European Commission, the number of road deaths per million inhabitants in Bulgaria last year was 82, while the average level in the EU was 52. Police commissary Anton Antonov, head of "Road Police" at the Ministry of Interior, said that there was a rise in the number of victims on the road during the past year. As part of the project at the end of May, volunteers of "Open Youth" organized a campaign called "Drive responsibly 2014." Together with the police they participated in 28 special operations in 28 regions of the country. Over 3800 cars were checked and 11 percent of cases involved irregularities. The most common offences were related to documents, turned off lights and not wearing a seat belt. Where is Bulgaria in comparison to other Southeast European countries in terms of road safety?
 

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"My personal opinion is that most drivers have good driving etiquette. But the problem is with that 5-10% who do not have any driving culture. We see them everywhere, because they are people with good financial resources and less fear of the law,” Daniel Vankov says. “Society should not be scandalized only in such cases but there should have been a reaction when the court said the electronic tickets of the police and the cameras were not legal. In the area of ​​prevention, we have been trying to solve the problem with a positive approach, but it is not enough. There should be very strict control but everyone wishes to get away with infringement when they are stopped by police. Where is the logic?”

English: Alexander Markov