Bulgarian traffic police begin latest operation to enforce use of seat belts
Bulgaria’s Traffic Police are conducting a special operation from May 7 to 12 to enforce the use of seat belts by drivers and passengers, the Interior Ministry said.
There also will be special attention to the proper use of child safety seats, the ministry said.
Traffic Police carried out similar operations in Bulgaria from March 11 to 17 and from April 17 to 24, as part of a wider campaign by Tispol, the European Network of Traffic Police.
In the first of these two operations, 28 869 motor vehicles were checked, and there were 3402 cases where seat belts were not being worn, in 2591 of these cases by drivers. In 444 cases, the front-seat passenger was not wearing a seat belt, and in 367, by rear-seat passengers. There were also 45 cases where children were being transported without the use of safety seats.
In the April operation, a total of 49 363 motor vehicles were checked. There were 1766 cases where the law was being broken, either by seat belts not being worn or by a failure to transport in a child in a child seat, the ministry said.
In 2018, for the second consecutive year, Bulgaria had the second-highest road fatality rate in the European Union, after for some years before that having had the highest road fatality rate.
