The lack of coordination between the various institutions is among the main problems for road safety, Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Peev said on bTV’s “120 Minutes”.
His comment comes amid the investigation into the two serious chain-reaction crashes that occurred on November 10 at around 7:00 a.m. in dense fog on the “Trakia” motorway near the “Zimnitsa” interchange in Yambol region. Thirteen people died in the incidents.
The crashes involved 31 heavy goods vehicles and one bus. The Ministry of Transport and Communications’ responsibility in the case is related to the Executive Agency “Automobile Administration”. The agency inspected all the vehicles involved in the incidents, and the inspections found no irregularities in their documentation.
Clear operational responsibility is needed
Peev drew a parallel between aviation and road transport, where safety systems should be based on common principles and standards.
According to him, overall responsibility within the system has been defined over the years, but protocols at the operational level are also needed. They should specify who bears final responsibility under specific conditions and how the institutions should act in such situations.
“In aviation, this is the air traffic controller, who says what happens under the given conditions—but who is in charge on the road?” the minister asked.Several centers, but insufficient links
According to Peev, the system is fragmented because several centers are operating—the Interior Ministry’s National Coordination Center for Road Traffic Safety, the Road Infrastructure Agency’s situation center, and a center within the toll administration.
Responsibilities have been assigned to each of them, but the operational links between the individual units have not been sufficiently clearly defined, the transport minister said.
“The state has a great deal of data, but it is not being used to its full potential,” Georgi Peev said. The investigation into the crashes near “Zimnitsa” is ongoing.
Sources: bta.bg