The Ministry of the Interior will spare no resources to improve road safety and reduce road injuries, the official minister said of Internal Affairs Atanas Ilkov, quoted by BTA. He came yesterday to the intersection of “Gurko“ and “Shishman“ in Sofia, where the participants in the procession in memory of the children who died in accidents left flowers and honored the memory of the victims of road accidents with a moment of silence. A year ago, 15-year-old Filip Arsov died on the crosswalk at the intersection, who was hit by a drunk driver.
Earlier yesterday evening, the procession started from the parliament building in Sofia. The organizers are the "Angels on the Road" Association, and the initiators are the parents of Filip Arsov. Parents who have lost their children in road accidents have again called for justice, tougher penalties and an end to road warfare. The participants carried flowers and photos of those who died in accidents, as well as messages, including: “Maximum sentences for drunken, drugged and brazen road killers“, “The judicial system in Bulgaria– enemy of victims and defender of murderers“.
Minister Ilkov stated that the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will have zero tolerance for any driver who allows himself to violate the Road Traffic Act and with this violation creates prerequisites for endangering the lives and health of citizens.
strong> I am here to express my civic responsibility and as Home Minister to express my sympathy for the pain and suffering of all the loved ones who have lost their lives in road accidents, he said. Ilkov added that they have a series of meetings with the parents of the dead children and together they implement a number of initiatives related to road safety. Our main task is the strengthened control and strengthening of the administrative penal activity against the offenders, so that we achieve the effect that we all expect, indicated the official minister. He noted that at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported 54 fewer people died compared to the previous one. According to him, this is an indicator that all the measures planned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs are yielding results.
We want the whole society to wake up from apathy and be unforgiving towards people who get drunk, drugged and aggressively drive their cars, said Nikolina Petkova, mother of 15-year-old Filip Arsov. This war on the roads must stop. We are losing an awful lot of people, we are losing children, we are losing future doctors, engineers. This war really crosses all borders, she pointed out. Petkova explained that the demonstration started from the so-called triangle of power to be heard by those in power. Petkova insisted on adequate changes in the legislation.
The march is in memory of all the children who will not cross the threshold of the school and, accordingly, in the name of all those who will go to school tomorrow. Let's protect them, let's protect the children, they are the future of this country, urged Filip Arsov's mother.
15-year-old Philip died in September last year, hit on a footpath on ”Gurko” in Sofia. A series of protests followed, demanding justice and stricter road controls. In June of this year, the Sofia City Court proceeded on the merits of the case against Petar Todorov, the defendant for the accident. According to the investigators, the driver violated the traffic rules by driving at 88 km/h at a speed limit of 30 km/h and on a pedestrian crossing on the street "Gurko" did not miss the crossing boy. According to the prosecution, the driver was driving with 2.1 percent of alcohol in his blood.