Bulgaria’s road accident death toll in 2018 was 609 – Interior Ministry
A total of 609 people died in accidents on Bulgaria’s roads in 2018, a figure 73 fewer than the road accident death toll in 2017, the Interior Ministry said on January 1 2019, citing provisional statistics.
The year 2018 saw 6674 accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, and apart from the road deaths, a total of 8445 people were injured.
In December 2018 alone, there were 453 accidents, with 41 people dead and 559 injured.
The year 2017 saw 6846 accidents on Bulgaria’s roads, with 682 road deaths, and a total of 8630 people injured.
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 8356 people died in road accidents in Bulgaria. Adding in 2018 brings the number to 8965.
Bulgaria has the second-worst road accident fatality rate in the European Union.
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 17 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.
(Photo: Gabriella Fabbri)
