Martin Atanasov to FACTI: Ministry of Interior has pulled the "handbrake" on "Black Track"

Two months after it was presented to the public, the interactive map "Black Track", developed by 18-year-old Martin Atanasov, froze because… The creator of the platform, Martin Atanasov, spoke to FACTI.

- Mr. Atanasov, what is happening with the "Black Track" platform two months later. What is the life of this map?
- I like to start with the positive news that over 300,000 people have visited the platform in these two months. 300,000 have opened it, searched for something in it, and many more have heard about it. Otherwise, in fact, the platform is currently in the same The way I released it - there is nothing new. And this is due to the fact that the Ministry of Interior pulled the “handbrake“ on the “Black Track“ project.

- How did it get there?
- They don't provide me with updated data. That way, the map can't be up-to-date. Why is this data needed? So that based on the current information, analyses can be made as to why accidents occur in a given location. Plus, the Ministry of Interior released its own map. It is very similar to “Black Track“. It turned out that the Ministry of Interior's map has the data from the original “Black Track“ map. And there are many errors in this data. Because some of it was entered years ago, there are many wrong places, certain data was entered more than once, purely mechanically, there are simply many errors. In order to fix these errors - purely expertly, more information is needed so that the software can to be supplemented with this information. In fact, this information, which is an expanded database that I am talking about, everything goes through it in order to clear the errors in the “Black Track“. Only in this way will we be able to see where the truly dangerous places on the road are. And not just when an analysis is launched, for example, for a city, to see the most dangerous places, and the parking lot of the police station or the local hospital comes out, because they have been entered several times and this is given as a location, but it is wrong.

- Is this how the information itself changes?
- It does not just change, but it changes a lot, because these are not one or two errors, but many, many more. This type of information changes all the analyses that can be done. This is the main problem. Now I have an unofficial refusal for this data from the Ministry of Interior. I want it so that we can not only clear the errors, but I want analyses to be done, which the Ministry of Interior clearly , RIA or whoever they are not doing.

- What do you mean by a larger database?
- The idea is to provide more extensive information. For example, how many participants are in a traffic accident, what are the types of vehicles - whether they are cars, buses, trucks, lorries, cyclists. We are talking about much more detailed information. What was the weather like, who are the drivers, how old are they, what citizenship do they have, and so on. Only then will we be able to show the alleged causes of the accident, what are the biggest problems and take measures against them. Measures are being taken now. We are increasing control... As we always do and put everyone under one denominator. And how do we expect this to give results!? Logic says that we must find the root of the problem. The question is whether the Ministry of Interior believes its own data, because there are errors in them too, which I mentioned earlier. They may also be due to This is why they don't do this analysis. Another question is why, when there is a desire for a civil project to do it, the information is not given, and the project is stopped and I am not given the opportunity for anything new.

- But it was the Ministry of Interior that reacted adequately at the beginning, when they gave you this data…
- The Ministry of Interior simply fulfilled its legal requirement. I have not had any communication with them before. I simply submitted an application and requested access to public information. And it is interesting to say that the only meeting I initiated was with the Ministry of Interior. After I submitted the map, I met with the head of the RIA, the head of the State Agency for Road Safety, the regional minister, and so on. And I have progressed from these meetings. I already have a set of data, but there is no point in the information about the condition of the road, for example, since it is not clear where the places where accidents occur are. When we have this information, then we will be able to analyze what factors influence to make it happen. The dangerous sections of the road are not 32, as announced by the RIA, but there are many more. We need a large database to be able to see the whole picture and do an analysis, to see if the condition of the road underneath is bad, or the reason is something else. What is the other reason... And now to really look for where the problems are in order to take measures. Because the problem with road safety continues to persist.

- When you launched the platform, many programmers contacted you with new ideas. Are you planning new things?
- There are many ideas, but they rely on the database. We can make it very beautiful, unique in terms of vision, there are many options, but if we have updated information. If we do it just like that, there is not much point. Yes, there are things that can be done, but everything goes through this database update. The database at the time of “Black Track“ is dated April 14.

- So, there is no development?
- There is none, because there is no data from the institutions. I expected that some kind of partnership would be made in some way, but…

- When you released the map, shortly after there was a very serious hacker attack. How did things develop there? Did you understand where it all came from, why it happened, any explanation…
- No, there is no development there like an investigation. But, nevertheless, there was an effect after the reward was announced by Mr. Dimitrov, who supports the platform as a hosting. He announced a reward for the guarantor of 100,000 leva, and the amount reached 500,000 leva if he is a politician. Apparently the perpetrator and the guarantor were scared of the reward, because the attacks stopped the day after the reward was announced. Otherwise, there are several reports filed with the Directorate of Anti-Terrorism, but it is a fact that the attacks stopped after the reward. Apparently the services did not put in much effort, because I cannot look for the perpetrator, nor the hosting company.

- Yes, it should be investigated by the services, so that, if it comes to court, the evidence is relevant?
- That's right.

- What "broke" in the communication with the Ministry of Interior. Where did it stop?
- Everything stopped after their map was released. Somewhere in mid-June. At the end of May, I released “Black Track“. Then I started going to meetings and at a meeting with the Ministry of Interior they told me that they were preparing their map. I suppose that the files can be copied quite easily, but I understand them. Apparently they wanted to get out with the news that they also have such a map. I told them that there was no problem and offered to give them to me after they published their map. I asked them to provide me with the expanded database, because I understood that their platform would have quite limited information, which is also available on “Black Track“. The Ministry of Interior released the map with a delay, but I asked them again, because their map is now public and we should do something official. And then I received a purely administrative answer. In order for everything to be within the rules, I filed a new application under the Access to Public Information Act. I received a practical answer, which is a bit of legal madness, to be honest. I also consulted with lawyers, because at the beginning they list the data that I want, and at the end they say that they refuse me, but they allow me to use the data from their card and send me a link to it. When I open their card, I see that the information that I want is not there, so this is a formal refusal. And so the contact with them died down, because it is a vicious circle. And this was the last straw that overflowed because it blocked all possibilities for the development of “Black Track“.