Transport minister Georgi Peev has met Nikolay Popov from the civic movement "Siyanie" and Vladimir Kulev, a certified safe-driving instructor, to discuss how to get driving safety tracks built in Bulgaria.
The meeting focused on road safety reform and, more specifically, what steps are needed to make a nationwide network of such tracks work.
"We need to move from scattered initiatives to concrete, lasting action. We're starting work on the legal changes, but this process has to be communicated widely and follow a clear sequence," Peev said.
He said a strategy for the tracks now needs to be drawn up. It should spell out exactly what the tracks will look like, who will pay for them and who will run them. The strategy should also set how many tracks are needed and where in the country they should go. Peev said a transition period is planned so the system is rolled out step by step, not all at once.
"Our idea is to first build one pilot track, built to a standard model with clear rules and requirements. Once that model has been tested and refined, it can be rolled out elsewhere in the country," the minister said.
Peev believes driving instructors should have a bigger say in shaping teaching materials and the training method itself. He said learner drivers should not just be taught the rules of the road. It matters more, he said, that future drivers pick up real skills and habits. Those are what will let them cope safely behind the wheel.
Nikolay Popov backed the push for concrete action and said he is ready to help with his expertise and his own time. "We need real change in how drivers behave and how they're trained – before the consequences reach someone's family," he said.
Vladimir Kulev set out his own proposals for practical driver training from a professional standpoint. He also explained how the tracks could fit into the wider effort to cut road deaths and injuries in Bulgaria.
All three agreed that road safety reform needs concrete, measurable, consistent action. They said the process should bring together state institutions, professional instructors and the civic groups working on the issue.