No major violations were found at the inspections of the school buses. This is what Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Christina Velinova stated at the opening of Safe Road Infrastructure Conference. The event was held in Hissarya and was organized for the seventh consecutive year by the Bulgarian branch organization "Road Safety".
In the framework of the forum, Christina Velinova said that before the start of the school year, all companies that transported children and students in the new school year had been inspected. The results showed that out of a total of 791 buses inspected, 4 acts were drawn up and 44 prescriptions were issued. The most common violations were the lack of a first aid kit, a safety triangle, and a bus that has not undergone a technical inspection. "The checks will continue in front of the very schools, and the inspectors will monitor whether the instructions are met and whether all the requirements for transportation of children and students are met", Deputy Minister Velinova said.
According to her, the statistics about the dead young drivers were especially worrying. For the first six months of the current year, out of a total of 200 dead, 20 were young drivers, and in 19 of the cases the cause of the accident was driver's fault. In 7 of those cases, alcohol or drugs were found in the blood.
The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications was working on a number of measures, Deputy Minister Christina Velinova said. "The control during the theory exams of the drivers candidates is tougher, the control during the technical checks is to be improved, as well as modern systems for road checks in the transport of passengers and cargo are to be introduced. We are also working on the control and prevention of the transportation of children and students", Christina Velinova said.
The Deputy Minister announced that the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications would join the traditional campaign of the European Roads Policing Network (ROADPOL). The campaign will take place as Road Safety Days from 16 to 22 September, which is traditionally European Mobility Week. This year's motto is "It's easy to save a life! Just abide by the rules!".