“I traveled during the holidays, but there was nothing striking. There were only traffic jams on the “Hemus” motorway, because the section near the two tunnels is under repair. Even before the holidays, we are investing resources there to provide for citizens. Even on Monday before noon, there will be an organization so that the two tunnels can handle traffic”.
This was stated to NOVA by Chief. Inspector Lachezar Bliznakov from the “Traffic Police“.
He appealed to drivers to be more humble.
According to him, there are police teams and cameras, but this was not a solution to the problems, they were looking for infrastructure solutions - installing pegs, widening traffic lanes to reduce accidents. The inspector emphasized that the busiest time of day will be on “Hemus”.
“For the holidays, we report a decrease in accidents and injuries, as well as for the whole of 2024. For 14 days around the knees and New Year's holidays, there were 215 serious accidents, and for the same period in 2023. were 238. The injured are 286, we are reporting 42 fewer injured, which is significant progress”, emphasized Inspector Bliznakov.
According to him, the statistics for drunk and drugged drivers are frightening, no matter how much they increase the control. During these 14 days, they checked nearly 100,000 drivers, with about 640 having used alcohol or drugs. Bliznakov indicated that 13 people died during the period.
He indicated that the opening of the border crossings helped drivers to be calm. The heavy fog that descended in recent days did not lead to more accidents than usual. According to him, there is no point in overtaking large columns.
“There will be security everywhere, over 900 teams will monitor the roads. Over 1 million. Bulgarians traveled during the holidays”, he pointed out.
According to him, 481 people died in 2024 in serious road accidents, 9,045 were injured. 13 children died, and over 1,200 were injured. “The main reason is driver error”, emphasized Inspector Bliznakov. The number of cars seized from drunk and drugged drivers from August 4 to December 19 is 5,837.
”This section is prone to high-speed traffic and accidents are a fact. I cannot afford to comment, but it is clear that the speed was high, the impact occurred strangely. There was a loss of control”, said the inspector regarding the accident that claimed a victim near Veliko Tarnovo, on the Sofia - Varna road.