According to a report by the European Commission, Bulgaria ranks second in the EU in road fatalities for 2024. With an average of 45 deaths per 1 million people in the EU in the same year, this indicator in our country reaches 74. Compared to 2019, when about 90 deaths per 1 million people were recorded in our country, there is an improvement, but the numbers are still startling.
According to the chairman of the Institute for Road Safety Bogdan Milchev, this is an expected result for the entire society. "It is not news that we are at the bottom in terms of safety of our roads in the EU", he emphasized.
"We refuse to change our management systems and direct all our energy towards hating each other. Anyone who has not lost a loved one on the road is guilty. Anyone who is well informed is an expert, He calls himself an expert without having any experience and without being responsible for the proposals he makes in national media. All this is possible because weak, greedy politicians create mouthpieces who use the opportunity of the so-called shared responsibility, i.e. irresponsibility of institutions in the field of road safety", Bogdan Milchev explained in an interview for the program "Predi visi" on the Bulgarian National Radio.
It is a serious challenge to change this, he pointed out. His expectation is that Andrey Gyurov's cabinet will rule for quite a long time. And he expressed hope that when a caretaker government has nothing to lose, it may decide to shoulder serious changes in the administrative apparatus of road management:
"The caretaker government is not burdened purely politically, no one will vote for it and it can carry out these difficult reforms. Whatever change is made, there will be very great resistance - resistance from the state administration, resistance from the heralds of road safety that politicians have created over the years. This resistance can only be overcome with firmness and competence. Therefore, only a caretaker government can provide the direction and the path".
According to Milchev, we have a systemic problem and it is related to the fact that there is no clear definition of who bears the overall responsibility for road safety in Bulgaria. According to him, it is currently divided between several institutions, thus creating corrupt practices and chaos in the entire transport system. He is categorical that it must be clearly defined who bears this responsibility.
The Chairman of the Road Safety Institute added that we must allow for extra-system control, i.e. clear and transparent management in the Ministry of Interior, the RIA and the Ministry of Transport:
"We should have real-time data on the activities of these institutions so that the public and experts can identify deficiencies or corrupt actions and shed light on them. Corruption in Bulgaria is only afraid of light and noise. It is not being investigated at this stage".
According to him, the "Zhelyazkov" cabinet has imitated concern. They were clearly aware that the measures they are proposing will not work, he specified and called this "demagogy and gaining political time".
"The entire EU has long since switched to a different understanding of road safety. Until we change our understanding, there is no way it will work", believes Bogdan Milchev.
The IPB has prepared a roadmap for the development of safety in Bulgaria in a 2-year period.