Midway through 2018, Bulgaria’s road death toll is 242
The number of road deaths in Bulgaria in 2018 reached 242 by June 30, according to Interior Ministry statistics.
In the first half of 2018, there were 3034 road accidents in Bulgaria, leaving 3839 people injured.
In June alone, there were 605 accidents, with 49 people dead and 763 injured.
By comparison, in the first half of 2017 there were 2948 accidents, with 282 people dead and 3649 people injured.
A total of 678 people died in accidents on Bulgaria’s roads in 2017, a figure lower than the road accident death toll in 2016, according to Interior Ministry statistics.
The year 2017 saw 6846 accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, and apart from the road deaths, a total of 8630 people were injured.
Bulgaria has the second-worst road death rate in the European Union, according to EU figures.
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, a total of 1011 people died in accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, that figure rose to 1061 in 2008, the worst figure in the past 16 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 708 in 2015.
In 2016, there were 7355 accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, leaving 703 dead and 9306 people injured.
In all, in the years from 2007 to 2017 inclusive, a total of 8352 people died in road accidents in Bulgaria.
(Photo: Mario Hains)
