The Road Safety Institute (RSI) has asked President Iliana Yotova to call the Consultative Council on National Security immediately, saying the state of Bulgaria's roads is a threat to national security. The institute made the request in an open letter to the head of state.
The letter was sent five days after the pile-up on the Trakia motorway that killed 13 people and injured dozens. Eight people have died on the roads in the past two days. Road deaths since the start of the year are 56 higher than in the same period last year, the letter says. The RSI describes the state of road safety as critical.
On 11 November we reported that after the crash in the Yambol area, police closed the motorway in the lane towards Sofia. Drivers from Burgas took a detour through Karnobat and Petolachkata.
The institute wants the council to discuss who bears political responsibility for the "war on the roads", why there are no preventive steps despite warnings and forecasts of a growing risk, what must be decided immediately, and who will be personally answerable for the results.