Bulgaria’s road death toll in first seven months of 2019 is 311
A total of 311 people died in road accidents in Bulgaria in the first seven months of 2019, the Interior Ministry said on August 1, citing provisional statistics.
Between January 1 and July 31, there were 3554 road accidents in Bulgaria, leaving – apart from those who died – a total of 4488 people injured.
In July alone, there were 656 accidents, in which 57 people died and 833 were injured.
The Interior Ministry said that compared with July 31 2018, the road death toll in 2019 was currently six lower.
European Union statistics show that Bulgaria has the second-highest road death toll in the EU, after Romania.
In recent years, Bulgaria repeatedly has amended its road traffic laws, providing for higher penalties for common offences such as drink-driving and speeding.
Further amendments are in the pipeline, with the idea of writing new laws on road traffic and enacting them in different statutes. Reportedly included are new rules for newly-qualified drivers, such as requiring them to be accompanied by a licensed driver in the first six months after getting a licence, and banning them during that time from driving at night or driving a car over a certain engine capacity.
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