Grieving parents are fighting to make Bulgaria’s killer roads safer

Standing at a memorial to her 14-year-old son, who was hit by a drunk driver in central Sofia a year ago, Nikolina Petkova vowed to work to make Bulgaria’s roads less deadly.

“Nothing can bring our Philip back,” she said.

“But I’m speaking so that no more parents wait in vain for their child to come home.”

According to official data for 2023 published by the European Commission, Bulgaria’s roads are considered the most dangerous in the European Union, with 82 deaths per million inhabitants. Sweden has the best figures among the 27 EU countries – 22 deaths per million.

Philip’s father, Krasimir Arsov, is one of several grieving parents who blame the high number of road accident deaths in Bulgaria on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and an ineffective justice system.

In September 2023, Philip was hit by a drunk driver who was traveling at 88 kilometers (54 miles) per hour, three times the speed limit.

The memorial at the intersection where he died has become a place for friends and families of other victims to meet and demand justice.

“Before the accident, I thought we were living in a normal country,” Arsov, a 60-year-old engineer, told AFP.

“But when I spoke with the relatives of other victims, I realized that the state does not protect the lives of its citizens.”

– “Feeling of impunity” –

Ever since the fatal accident, Philip’s parents have been fighting to bring attention to the issue to change it.

“There is nothing that can fix what happened to us,” said 52-year-old Petkova.

But she condemned the “sense of impunity” among violators, the widespread lack of compliance with the law and the failure to punish violators.

“The man who killed our son was convicted of drink driving 18 years ago but got away with a simple fine and re-offended,” she said.

After several months in the pre-trial detention center, the driver was placed under house arrest. He is currently on trial.

“We must be relentless: nothing will change until punishments are applied,” said Petkova, who studied law.

But the near-daily media reports of road accidents seem to have raised awareness of the problem in the EU’s poorest country, which has been gripped by prolonged political upheaval.

Last year, the Bulgarian parliament passed tougher penalties for those who drive under the influence of drugs.

Accused drivers’ cars are now impounded pending trial, even if they have no prior convictions.

The law could be overturned by the courts on the grounds that it violates private property rights, but Petkova emphasized that people’s lives are also a “fundamental right.”

– Thousands of confiscated cars –

According to official statistics, police confiscated more than 4,000 vehicles after the increased measures were introduced.

If drivers are convicted, the vehicles are auctioned off or given to municipalities or ministries for future use.

But official parking lots are full of confiscated cars.

“We are trying to find a solution” to move them to larger areas, said police officer Ivo Momchev.

Malina Krumova, head of Bulgaria’s road safety agency, said the confiscation of cars had a deterrent effect.

She said road deaths have decreased since 2019, when the agency was founded, and injuries still number in the thousands.

Bulgaria’s busy road traffic, due to its position as a gateway to the EU, is one of the main factors behind the country’s high accident rate, Krumova said.

But she also blamed Bulgaria’s relative poverty.

About half of the cars registered in Bulgaria are over 20 years old. Weak safety testing prevents dangerous vehicles from being removed from the roads, and road infrastructure is crumbling.

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