The Bulgarian Association of Road Crash Victims flew the national flag upside down on Sunday, 15 November, at the start of the Trakia motorway on the edge of Sofia. The group called on the government to act against the "war on the roads". The protest marked World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Two serious pile-ups with deaths happened on the motorway the same week.

The association's national petition has nearly 200,000 signatures. It will be handed to parliament and the Council of Ministers. The petition asks them to discuss spending money from the road safety fund on set targets, not only on the interior ministry's priorities. Iliya Todorov of the association said the fund holds hundreds of millions. He cited a report by the National Audit Office, which says the fund is filled with fines for offences but the money goes to other uses. He said that means the excuse that there is no money no longer holds.

"We want to tell the authorities that the money is there. What is needed is will and quick action," Todorov said. The association wants the authorities to make safe "a hundred fronts of the war", its name for the well-known danger spots where people die every year. Todorov said something can be done at these places, because they have no guardrails or warning systems, and the road has potholes.

Vladimir Todorov, also of the association, said the upside-down flag is a sign of crisis. "We want to say that the war on the roads is not just a phrase – it is a real war situation," he said. He said road deaths are now an everyday item in the news, with children, women and whole families dying, and that is why the association wants to show the war on the roads with a symbol.

Interior ministry data shows 442 people have died on Bulgaria's roads since the start of the year. Another 7,480 were injured in 5,998 crashes with injuries or deaths. Iliya Todorov said these figures stand for broken families who lost loved ones. He said more people have died on Bulgaria's roads in the past 20 years than Bulgarian soldiers were lost in World War Two.

The association says people must change their attitude and take responsibility for themselves, their families and other road users. But it says this does not remove the need for safe roads, because people will keep making mistakes and technical faults will keep causing crashes.

Tereza Tsoncheva of the foundation "This Is Christmas" said the foundation and the Renaissance church are donating €30,000 to the victims of the crash on the Trakia motorway.

Updated (15.11, 14:05): Video added from Bulgarian News Agency.

Video: Bulgarian News Agency / YouTube