site.btaTransport Minister Participates in Discussion on Road Safety

Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov participated in a discussion on the topic of road safety and truck accidents on Tuesday.

The meeting was organized by the non-governmental sector to discuss urgent measures to improve road safety in connection with the increasing number of road accidents involving trucks.

"Relatives of those who died on the road, as well as from the transport industry, clearly stated that they want even stricter control by state road authorities. The question clearly resonated. The question is related to the fact that sometimes carriers do not have direct authority over whether trucks are overloaded, how they are overloaded. We have a clear answer," Minister Karadjov told journalists.He also explained what the specific measures identified by the state are. "On those roads where there is a lot of freight traffic (…), we have sent additional teams patrolling daily," said Karadjov.

"We have already prepared a bill that is in interdepartmental coordination and will soon enter the Council of Ministers. It provides that everything along the loading chain, quarries, grain depots, mines, to unloading ports and other facilities, together with the carrier will bear joint and several liability. Then, when a vehicle is detected with an axle load exceeding the permissible limit, everyone along the chain will be able to bear the liability. Subsequently, they will be able to conduct civil cases among themselves about who is at fault. Otherwise, we are spinning in a vicious cycle," the Minister of Transport and Communications also commented.