Institutions had information about dense fog, reduced visibility and dangerous weather conditions on the Trakia Motorway around two hours before the serious chain-reaction crashes near Yambol. This was stated by Bogdan Milchev of the Road Safety Institute on bTV.
The incidents occurred on November 10 and involved 86 vehicles. Eleven people died and nearly 50 were injured. Traffic was disrupted because of the fog, while rescue teams worked at the scene for hours.
Information about the conditions was received at around 5:00 a.m.
According to Milchev, at around 5:00 a.m., the situation centre of the Road Infrastructure Agency received information about 99% humidity, reduced visibility and a temperature of 4 degrees. He said that under such conditions, the maintenance company should have inspected the section and, if necessary, treated the road surface with anti-icing chemicals.
He pointed out that the information from the situation centre had also been forwarded to the National Coordination Centre at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It includes representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, a state agency and the Road Infrastructure Agency. According to the expert, the centre has the authority to decide to close the road if conditions require it.
Dispute over the connection between the toll system and the Interior Ministry
Milchev said that the toll system’s cameras had recorded the fog in the area and that the Interior Ministry had access to this information. He rejected claims that there was no connectivity between the systems.
“The systems are functioning, and information about everything that is happening is available,” the expert stressed.According to him, responsibility for such incidents should not be viewed solely through the actions of drivers. Milchev also raised the issue of using information boards to warn about dangerous road conditions. In his words, a message warning only of fog does not provide drivers with enough information about whether the road surface is slippery, whether it is safe to pass and at what speed they should drive.
The expert called on the interior minister to check how many information boards are being stored in Interior Ministry warehouses and how long they have not been used.
National Investigation Service takes over the investigation
The National Investigation Service has taken over the investigation into the crashes under the supervision of the Yambol District Prosecutor’s Office. Ten investigators, three forensic officers and a mobile forensic laboratory are working at the scene.
Interviews with witnesses and those injured are continuing, as is a second inspection of the accident scenes. This will be followed by an automotive technical examination, which must establish the mechanism of the accidents, the sequence of the collisions and the causes behind them.
Traffic on the Trakia Motorway has now been restored in both directions, but fog and reduced visibility continue in the area. According to Yambol Regional Governor Georgi Chalakov, the carriageway towards Sofia was reopened at 1:20 a.m., while traffic towards Burgas was restored two hours later.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg