A passenger car with a Turkish registration tore the dividing barrier on the “Maritsa“ motorway and overturned into oncoming traffic on August 4, NOVA reports. Another serious accident, which occurred at the height of summer travel, once again raises the question of how reliable the safety equipment on Bulgarian roads is and how the institutions control the increased traffic.
The accident on August 4 occurred with a car traveling from Germany to Turkey. The 52-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle, causing the car to bend and tear the left barrier, overturning on its roof in the Sofia lane. Miraculously, there were no casualties in the collision, and the driver escaped with only minor injuries.
Inspector Nikolay Kamenov from the Haskovo Traffic Police points out the leading version of the investigators.
“According to the investigation, the driver lost control, most likely because he fell asleep“, explains Kamenov. However, the driver himself told the law enforcement agencies that it was a sudden tire blowout.
This is the second such case in a little over a week. On July 26, two cars collided fatally on the same highway near the Harmanli village of Polyanovo. In the brutal accident, the cars flew off the road, and the dividing barrier was torn again. A man, a woman and a 10-year-old child died on the spot – Iraqis with German passports, and six other people were injured.
Taking into account the grim statistics, law enforcement agencies assure that they are implementing prevention measures along the route.
„The traffic police have a strong presence on the highway. They monitor compliance with traffic rules. Control is carried out both during the day and at night. Drivers are advised to take into account the intense traffic at the moment and the hot weather, to take frequent breaks in order to be more concentrated when driving their vehicles and not make mistakes“, urges Inspector Kamenov.
Despite the police presence, the data of the National Toll Administration show a worrying trend. Of all the violations detected in the average speed zones in the country in the second half of July, nearly 20 percent were on the “Maritsa“ highway. The route is becoming a kind of record holder - average speed violations have increased fivefold compared to June. The jump is mainly due to the huge flow of transit passengers to our southern neighbor.
The Traffic Police categorically state that all violators, even though they are foreign citizens, will receive their fines at the addresses where they are registered.