Radev calls for crackdown on street racing and reckless driving

Bulgaria remains among the EU countries with the highest rates of road deaths and injuries, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at a meeting with officials responsible for road safety, calling for tougher action against dangerous driving and illegal street racing.

"I am sure the Interior Ministry knows where illegal street races and drifting take place. It would not take much time to identify such hotspots across the country, not just in Sofia, where reckless drivers make life difficult for everyone else," Radev said. He urged the ministry to use "the full coercive power of the state" to curb such behaviour, adding that there should be "no mercy" for offenders who endanger lives.

The meeting was held in the wake of a crash involving two cars and a public transport bus in Sofia on June 5 that killed four people, including two Indian nationals, and injured 16 others, Bulgarian National Radio said.

Efforts to reduce road casualties have been under way for years but have so far produced no significant progress, Radev said. He cited poor road conditions, shortcomings in driver training and licensing, and the work of municipalities and regulatory authorities as well as a lack of discipline among motorists as some of the factors behind the problem.

He pledged closer coordination among institutions to improve the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing road deaths and injuries.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova