Midway through 2016, Bulgaria’s road death toll is 301
Halfway through 2016, the number of deaths in road accidents in Bulgaria has reached 301, according to Interior Ministry statistics on July 1.
Since January 1, there have been 3331 road accidents in Bulgaria, leaving 4131 people injured.
Of the 863 people injured in June 2016, 52 were in critical condition, according to the Interior Ministry figures.
In 2015, there were 7296 road accidents in Bulgaria. The traffic accident death toll for the year was 680, with 8946 people injured.
Bulgaria ranks alongside Romania in having the worst road accident fatality rate in the European Union, of 95 per million inhabitants.
Bulgaria’s road accident fatality rate has generally declined since 1991, when it was 129 per a million. But the decline has not been at the same rate as the EU average.
In spite of the overall decline, some years have been worse than others. While in 2001, 1011 people died in accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, that figure rose to 1061 in 2008, the worst figure in the past 15 years.
In 2012 and 2013, the number of dead in each year was the same – 601. The number of road deaths in Bulgaria rose to 660 in 2014 and again to 680 in 2015.
While the number of road deaths so far in 2016 in Bulgaria is less than half of the total for 2015, the peak summer season lies ahead, when intense traffic between the cities and the seaside tends to bring with it an aggravated number of accidents.
The leading causes of road accidents in Bulgaria are speeding, reckless overtaking, and drink-driving.
