The black statistics on the roads continue to grow. Since the beginning of the month alone, 17 people have died in road accidents and 309 have been injured. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 234 victims and nearly 4,100 injured. The Burgas District Court must decide today whether to leave in custody the driver of the truck that on Friday, July 10, drove through the dividing barrier and hit two cars head-on, killing one person and injuring two others. The accident occurred just two weeks after another tragedy on the same highway, in which a father and his two children died in a similar way. On the topic in the program “This Morning” Diana Rusinova from the European Center for Transport Policies is a guest on bTV.
It was the scene of the accident on the “Trakia“ motorway. According to her, the dividing barrier was built in 2014 according to a project and standards from 2010. According to her, this is a lower-class facility, designed to hold vehicles weighing up to 1.5 tons, moving at a speed of up to 65 km/h and at a certain angle of impact. She raised the question of how effective such a system is in a collision with heavy trucks, whose weight many times exceeds these parameters.
Rusinova emphasized that the main problem remains the lack of effective control over heavy goods transport. She said she never called truck drivers "murderers", as her critics claim, but insisted only on equal control over all road users.
“The only thing I call for is control - for everyone, not for one, not for two - for absolutely everyone. And I am shocked by the reaction of these people, they are obviously afraid of control, they do not want to be controlled“, emphasized the expert from the European Center for Transport Policies.
Our fight is for people to be able to set off on their journey and return home alive. "No one should bury their loved ones because of an accident," she added.
Regarding the specific incident, she specified that traces were found at the scene that could be related to a flat tire, but stressed that the final conclusions should be made by the investigative authorities.
Rusinova also commented on the observance of the rules by professional drivers. She recalled that Bulgarian legislation prohibits driving a car in flip-flops, barefoot or without clothes from the waist up, but according to her, such violations continue to be allowed.
According to her, the enhanced control should be carried out by the Executive Agency "Automobile Administration" at the Ministry of Transport. She criticized the institution for the lack of a sufficiently active position regarding public transportation of goods and passengers.
As an example, Rusinova also cited the problem with grain trucks. According to her, both trucks involved in the recent serious accidents on the Trakia Motorway were transporting grain. She claims that in the past, attempts to tighten control over this sector have met with serious resistance, including from representatives of the Ministry of Transport, who insisted on stricter inspections.
According to Rusinova, without consistent control over heavy goods vehicles, including inspections for overloading and technical condition, such tragic incidents will continue to occur.