Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

National protest demanding tougher penalties for road accidents, legislative changes and better road infrastructure

Photo: BGNES - archive

A national protest against road accidents will take place today. Roads will be blocked in a number of cities across the country where serious accidents have occurred. 

"We are at war. Every year 500-600 people die in road accidents involving motor vehicles. Most of the victims are young people," Ivan Spasov, organiser of the protest and representative of 250 Bulgarian families who have lost loved ones in road accidents, told BNR. 

The protesters want tougher penalties, legislative changes and better road infrastructure. Among their demands is that driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs be recognised as a deliberate crime. According to Spasov, under the current law, if a driver kills a person, he now remains in custody for 3 months. After that, he either absconds or gets a suspended sentence.

In 2022 alone, 531 people were killed and 8,422 injured in 6,609 serious traffic accidents on Bulgaria's roads, according to Interior Ministry statistics.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria is 3% away from entering the US Visa Waiver Program

The U.S. Department of State today released the data for the refused type B visas for the financial year 2024. For Bulgaria, this percentage is 6.02%, which marks a significant decrease compared to last year, when it was 11.61%. This is the lowest..

published on 11/27/24 4:09 PM

Bulgarian MPs fail in their sixth attempt to elect Parliamentary Speaker

The Bulgarian MPs gathered in plenary today for a sixth attempt to elect a President, which again proved unsuccessful.  The chances of electing a Speaker of the 51st National Assembly are minimal The candidates Natalia Kiselova from..

published on 11/27/24 3:06 PM

Bulgaria and Egypt discuss possible direct air routes

Bulgaria's Ambassador to Egypt Deyan Katrachev met with Egypt's newly appointed Minister of Civil Aviation Sameh al-Hefny . At the meeting, which took place on 26 November, both discussed the updating of the air transport agreements between the two..

published on 11/27/24 2:12 PM