Bulgaria in the European TRENDLINE Project: a national survey reports significant progress in road safety culture, but also a clear need for targeted policies
State Agency Road Safety (SARS) presents the results of a large-scale national survey of road risk factors carried out in the framework of the European TRENDLINE Project. Data shows an overall improvement compared to previous measurements, but also highlights the need for targeted policies in specific areas.
The study is part of the European TRENDLINE initiative, co-funded by the EC, and builds on the results of the previous Baseline Project. Six Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were measured based on observations of tens of thousands of vehicles and surveys of thousands of drivers across the country.
Bulgaria participates in the TRENDLINE Project, together with 24 other EU Member States, as well as 4 other European countries as observers. The project was launched in October 2022 and aims to measure and compare Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the field of road safety and to use them as a basis for better policymaking. The project follows on from the Baseline initiative, which assisted participating Member States in collecting and reporting eight KPIs in a harmonized manner and building capacity in countries that had not previously collected data to calculate them.
So far, countries have generally reported the number of deaths and injuries. The problem is that these figures are influenced by demographic change. In some countries, the population is declining, but the number of trips is increasing, while others see the opposite trend. Thus, the same policy may seem successful in one place and ineffective in another, without actually being so.
The European Commission aims to build on this approach by introducing the following eight new key indicators, which do not simply report consequences, but measure behavior and conditions that lead to accidents:
- Speed – how many drivers comply with the speed limit
- Safety belts – how many passengers use them correctly
- Helmets – percentage of motorcyclists and cyclists who wear them
- Alcohol – compliance with legal limits
- Distraction – how many drivers do not use a handheld phone while driving
- Three more related to vehicle safety, state of infrastructure and post-crash response.
In addition to the eight KPIs that were defined by the Commission and used within TRENDLINE/BASELINE, the project also identified some new, experimental indicators: “Share of 30 km/h road lane lengths in urban zones” and “Self-assessment of risky behavior and attitudes toward risky behavior: Alcohol”. For all experimental indicators, summary reports were produced at the European level with the results of the pilot projects and corresponding methodologies for reporting the indicators.
In Bulgaria, data collection took place in two stages: in May-June and September-November 2024. Six of the key indicators – speed, safety belts, helmets, alcohol, driver distraction, and car safety – were measured.
Key trends and survey results:
Most measured indicators show positive developments compared to the BASELINE project, but systematic efforts are needed to continue this trend.
- Correct use of children car seats: Common for all roads: There is a slight decrease in the total share of correctly used children seats and restraint systems. In the first phase (BASELINE) this share was 60.8%, while in the current phase (TRENDLINE) it decreased to 58.4%. Although there has been a slight overall decrease, trends are very different depending on the type of road: most success has been achieved on rural roads, where there has been a dramatic increase in the correct use of children seats. The most serious challenge remains travel in urban areas, where there is an alarming decline, as well as motorway travel, which also sees a deterioration.
- Increase in the use of safety belts: Significant increase in the use of safety belts, mainly driven by a change in passenger behavior, is observed. The practice of using seatbelts in the rear seats, which until recently was an exception, has been consolidated. Graphic data shows that while drivers and front-seat occupants demonstrate traditionally high levels of use, the most significant growth is in rear-seat occupants on all types of roads. While the discipline of drivers and passengers in front seats is persistently high, the focus of future campaigns and controls must remain on increasing the use of belts in the rear seats.
- Stricter compliance with speed limits: Increase in the proportion of drivers complying with speed limits. On all three road types in the scope of the survey, the share of car drivers driving within the established speed limits is increasing. According to the calculated data from the radar camera used within TRENDLINE, those complying with the motorway speed limit were 93% (89% measured during BASELINE); on rural roads, they were 96% (against 93%). The most significant change (by more than 11 percentage points difference) is on roads within cities – 56% against 45% in the BASELINE period. Despite the positive trend, compliance with speed limits in urban areas appears to be problematic and requires more vigorous implementation of targeted road safety actions and policies.
- Constant distraction rate: The driver distraction rate due to the use of handheld mobile devices has remained unchanged in recent years, with minimal improvement only in urban areas. The comparative graphs show almost identical results for the two measurements, which visually confirm the absence of a substantial change in this risky behavior. Minimal improvement in concentration is noticeable among drivers in cities.
- Use of helmets by cyclists: This indicator remains at extremely low levels. Figures show that only 31% of cyclists outside urban areas and 18% in urban areas wear helmets. The graphs clearly illustrate this problem, showing very low use levels in both measurement periods.
- Use of helmets by motorcyclists: While results remain stable, there is a slight downward trend on roads outside and inside built-up areas. Data confirms very high but slightly decreasing levels of use: 96% outside built-up areas, compared to 99% measured in BASELINE, 92% in built-up areas (94%), and a constant level on motorways – above 99%.
- Alcohol: No statistically significant difference was recorded compared to the previous survey. However, it should be borne in mind that the data is based on self-assessment by drivers, which implies subjectivity.
- Vehicle safety: Only 4.8% of passenger cars are aged 0-5 years, with this indicator for 2020 being 7%. The share of newly registered passenger cars against the total fleet in 2022 was 0.78%, which shows a decrease of 1.3% compared to 2019.
Data from the TRENDLINE national survey shows a safer picture on Bulgaria’s roads, but with clear risk areas requiring immediate measures. There has been significant success in two key areas: an increased share of drivers complying with speed limits, especially in urban areas, and a noticeable increase in the use of seatbelts in the rear seats, which was until recently the exception.
Despite this progress, the survey alerts to serious challenges. There has been a worrying decline in the proper use of children car seats, especially in cities. At the same time, chronic problems such as persistently high levels of mobile phone distraction and critically low use of helmets by cyclists remain unsolved.
TRENDLINE data provides a clear focus for future efforts – while positive trends need to be consolidated, risks to children and distraction on the road require immediate and targeted action.
A detailed presentation of the survey is available Trendline_Presentation SARS EN