Will there be an end to the deep systemic problems in road safety in Bulgaria - from corrupt practices in driving exams, to political influence and lack of real reforms. How the topic of road safety is not only neglected, but also used for political purposes... Bogdan Milchev from the “Institute for Road Safety“ (IPB) speaks to FACTI.
– Mr. Milchev, in a recent study of yours by the IPB on the topic of road safety and in particular the acquisition of a driver's license, you introduced a new term - “examined tourism“. Could you explain what you mean?
– It is about the fact that the so-called historical corruption continues in the Ministry of Transport. Our research is based on objective data that is public. The analysis clearly shows that prospective drivers from Sofia go to get their licenses in Kyustendil, Vratsa and Pernik. This is happening because in Sofia corruption is more visible and more difficult to implement. Our research on driver's licenses is one topic. The other topic that has been of serious interest to us lately is the technical inspections of cars, and they are also under the umbrella of the Ministry of Transport. What does this report show? In Bulgaria, only 0.01% of cars that undergo a technical inspection are returned due to a malfunction, while in Germany every fifth car is returned due to a defect. In Germany, the car fleet is on average about 10 years old, and in Bulgaria - about 19 years old, with a large part of the cars coming from Germany and Italy. Let everyone draw their own conclusions about what technically sound cars are driving on our roads. The emphasis we want to place is to shift the focus – not only to the fact that our roads are killing us, which is a fact, but also to the corruption in the Ministry of Transport. As long as it exists in this form, we cannot achieve real progress in road safety. I will also recall that a few months ago, major political leaders such as Delyan Peevski and Boyko Borisov stated in the National Assembly that they wanted the “State Automobile Administration” to be closed after the scandal with Robbie Williams’ concerts.
- Then the question of what is happening and how money is being demanded really arose seriously…
- That’s right, and here I will open a parenthesis – this corruption scandal started precisely from the Road Safety Institute. We believe that corruption in Bulgaria is not being investigated. Corruption in our country is “scare“ only by noise and light. Thanks to media like yours, we can do exactly that – shed light on the problems. But, unfortunately, these free spaces are becoming less and less.
- Let's go back to driving courses. White rooms have been introduced, exams are digitized, cameras – everything is recorded in real time. How does cheating happen?
- Cheating adapts to the rules. Answers are given through hidden headphones, there is external interference, including the possibility that the company that services the exam software can enter the system and solve the tests. There are also hints. These are practices that can hardly be denied. Even more serious is corruption in the practical exam, because the subjective element is very strong there. The objective assessment is reduced to almost zero. Random routes are not chosen, they are suggested while driving, although everything is recorded.
- We are talking about when a candidate driver from Sofia goes to another city to get a license…
- He does it because there is an organized system in place. The success rate in Sofia is about 70%, while in cities like Pernik, Vratsa and Kyustendil it reaches about 90%. This clearly shows that there is an organized model for acquiring driver's licenses for a fee. Of course, this analysis of ours was also provided to the Minister of Transport so that he could take a position on it and make some adjustments. But the truth is that as long as the DAI exists in this form, we cannot achieve anything. The DAI needs to be completely disbanded. Some time ago, a request was made by political leaders that the structure would be closed and transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs or other services, but this, as you can see, did not happen. This was simply a bid for political time
- Yes, because we are in a campaign again and there is no government that can push through policy and to carry out reforms. What role do driving instructors and examiners play in the scheme itself? Let us explain...
- They have the main role. There are three players in this process. On one side is the one who gives the money - the candidate driver, who is inclined to participate in this corruption. On the other side, as an intermediary, most often the driving school and in particular the instructor. And the third party is the one who finally legalizes all the corruption - this is the role of the examiner. But in order for this to be interrupted, all units must be affected. On the one hand, society in Bulgaria is used to living in this corrupt environment. It consciously participates in it. No one is outraged by the fact that they will take an exam and will have to "cheat" to pass it. This is a historical problem - in all spheres, when a person takes an exam. When a person does not succeed on their own, they are ready to pay to achieve their goal. Few are those who resist this process, and usually it is they who suffer, “get a headache” when they try to oppose it.
- How can such a scheme be revealed? Is anyone really working on this?
- Unfortunately, corruption in Bulgaria is not investigated. It cannot be revealed because the services have to use special intelligence tools - cameras, wiretapping, operational information. We have reported many irregularities in the Ministry of Transport, and in particular the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, to all services. But when this corruption is patronized at the highest level - I mean the level of a minister - it cannot be investigated. There is no way for the ministry to investigate the minister, nor the services, because they also serve this corruption. Corruption in Bulgaria is not investigated. Here it is appropriate to note another significant thing, which is happening for the first time in the history of Bulgaria.
- And it is…
- The topic of road safety is being exploited for political purposes. What is happening right now - a human tragedy being exploited and used for political purposes - is on the one hand the most sinister thing that can happen to road safety, and on the other hand, if we look at it, this is perhaps part of the path that we need to take in order to really clear the ground around all these obstacles that stand in front of us in order to have adequate road safety.
- In this case, you are referring to a specific person - Siyana's father, Nikolay Popov…
- Yes, I am talking specifically about Siyana's father - Nikolay Popov. I had the opportunity to communicate with him for a year on the topic of road safety and I can say with absolute confidence that he cannot in any way influence road safety because he is not free.
- He is not free because…
- A few hours after the tragedy with Siyana, he uploaded a photo of the former regional minister Nikolay Nankov to his wall and wrote below: “Nankov, you are to blame for the death of my child, but don't forget that you have children too.“ With this post, he blamed the political system at the time, and in particular GERB, for the death of his child. A few hours later, he deleted this post. Then, on a television show, he said that he had been deceived that Nankov was guilty and that was why he had removed it. Today, he is saying that politicians killed his daughter again. When does he tell the truth… Let everyone do their own accounting. A week after Siyana's death, he abruptly stopped demanding the resignation of the head of the RIA. Why? Because he started answering his phone. For a whole year, Popov explained that the Minister of Regional Development Ivan Ivanov is the best minister. When we brought up the corruption scandal with Robin Williams' trucks, the Minister of Transport was Grozdan Karadzhov at the time. I repeatedly asked Popov to support us after we brought up this data on corruption. He did not do it, although the Ministry of Transport is also to blame for the death of his daughter. And last but not least - when we brought up the data on bonuses in the RIA, he again did not help us. Because the topic is painful for those in power. That is why he is not free. On February 19, I called on him on social networks to publish the GPS data on his phone where he was, and he blocked me. Let everyone draw their own conclusions about whether this person can in any way affect road safety.