site.btaRoad Hauliers Issue Joint Statement on Traffic Safety Problems and Infrastructure Deficiencies in NW Bulgaria

Road hauliers on Sunday voiced deep concern over the serious road accidents in Northwestern Bulgaria, which have become more frequent lately.

They noted in a media statement that road infrastructure in Bulgaria, including Road I-3 between Sofia and Vidin in the northwest, has been in critical condition for a long time. For years, heavy goods vehicles have been forced to travel hundreds of kilometres more than they would normally do, using roads unfit for such traffic due to repairs which should have been completed a very long time ago.

Besides that, all sorts of incompetent and emotional proposals have popped up in the public domain over the last few days, not taking account of the fact that Road I-3 is a strategic transport corridor which carries considerable volumes of international and domestic cargo and passenger traffic, they said.

Concerning an alleged proposal to close Road I-3 without providing an effective alternative route and without prior dialogue with the sector, the hauliers warned that this would create additional major risks, and the negative circumstances would hardly diminish.

The hauliers called for zero tolerance for drivers who violate traffic rules, regardless of their nationality. Offering sympathy for the family of a 12-year-old girl who was killed in a widely publicized traffic accident in Northwestern Bulgaria on March 31, the transport organizations urged the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Road Administration Agency, among other institutions, to exercise strict control over road traffic and to maintain road infrastructure in decent condition. They firmly opposed the possible closure of Road I-3 without a clear plan, non-transparently and without prior coordination with the sector. Such a step would worsen existing problems rather than solving them, they argued.

The hauliers insisted that traffic restrictions should only be enforced after at least 14-days’ prior notice, and any road repairs should be coordinated with the sectoral organizations. Adequate alternative routes should be provided for heavy goods vehicles in case of traffic restrictions, they said.

The hauliers called against blaming the entire transport sector for the actions of individual offending drivers. The vast majority of transport company employees are professionals who strictly abide by the law and work for the Bulgarian and European economy, they said, urging coordination and dialogue among state institutions, society and the transport sector. The loss of a human life on the road is a loss for the transport sector workers as well as anyone else, the statement said.

The statement was signed by the Union of International Hauliers, the Chamber of Bulgarian Road Hauliers, the Association of Bulgarian Enterprises for International Road Transport and the Roads (AEBTRI), and the European Transport Cluster, among other organizations.