Bulgaria’s road accident deaths in first quarter of 2017 lower than in Q1 of previous two years
The number of road deaths in Bulgaria in the first three months of 2017 was lower than in the first quarters of the previous two years, going by a regular bulletin issued by the country’s Interior Ministry.
Between January 1 and the end of March 2017, there had been 1147 accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, leaving 108 people dead and 1567 injured, according to an Interior Ministry report.
In the first three months of 2016, a total of 130 people died in road accidents in Bulgaria. In the same period in 2015, the number of road deaths was 134.
In the first quarter of 2016, there were 1410 road accidents, leaving 1677 people injured. For the first quarter of 2015, the numbers were 1435 accidents and 1751 people injured.
One difference between the first three months of 2017 and those of the previous two years was that the opening weeks of 2017 saw huge snowfalls and prolonged below-zero conditions that led to a succession of closures of motorways and roads – severe conditions that kept motorists off the roads and which thus may have contributed to lower accident and fatality figures.
Recently-released statistics showed that among the current 28 members of the European Union in 2016, Bulgaria had the highest road accident fatality rate.
(Photo: Mario Hains)
/Panorama
