On 16 – 22 September 2020, the annual European Mobility Week (EMW) campaign is being held and implemented with the support of the European Commission and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport. One of the key themes during the initiative is road transport accidents and prevention of road trauma.
State Agency Road Safety (SARS) has initiated a number of activities in its course under the slogan “Life Has Priority on the Road”.
Gabrovo will host the traveling exhibition of road safety posters, which children and young people from all over the country drew in 2019. The district city will also host the Second Road Safety Celebration day held under the auspices of SARS. It is initiated by Gabrovo District Administration and Gabrovo Municipality. On 18 September, organizers will demonstrate a response to a mock car crash involving a burning vehicle and hold many games and competitions for children to show their knowledge and learn new things about road safety.
Under the motto Life Has Priority on the Road, 20 September will see the final stage of the Best Young Driver campaign and Sofia Race Track race, the latter being one of the largest car races in the country. The two initiatives are under the auspices of SARS whose experts will take active part in them. A Road Safety Zone will be put together to highlight key road safety themes, such as: using a seat belt; vehicles’ roadworthiness; speeding; dangers of using cell phones while driving; prevention of alcohol and drug use when driving, etc.
Prior to the first day of school, SARS launched an initiative to equip road safety classrooms in schools across the country. 3,000 information boards of basic road signs have been produced and distributed across Bulgaria’s schools, thus raising school goers’ awareness of the topic.
SARS, in cooperation with City Radio and TV, is launching a joint initiative on road safety. Social media quizzes will be initiated including questions regarding road traffic safety, and will continue throughout the month. In addition, the media’s channels broadcast road safety messages involving many high-profile figures.
SARS experts will take part in numerous initiatives, among which:
- On 16 September, the National Sports Academy will present and include volunteers in demonstrations of safety while driving, simulated drink driving, a mock road accident demonstration, etc.
- Sixth Safe Road Infrastructure Conference will be held on 18 – 19 September in Hisar
- Initiatives organized by Sofia City Municipality will be held on 22 September: European Car-free Day
- Festival of Classic Vehicles will be held on 22 September 22 in Kostinbrod.
On the Bulgarian side, national coordinator of the campaign is the Ministry of Environment and Water. The underlying principle of the initiative is the promotion of sustainable urban mobility, leading to the reduction of air pollution, noise pollution, congestion, traffic accidents, and health problems. Useful materials for organizing events of municipalities participating in the campaign are published on the EMW website.
In recent years, the campaign has enjoyed increasing interest, including more than 2,500 cities, among which many Bulgarian municipalities. Each edition focuses on a specific topic related to sustainable mobility, and in 2020 it is Clean Mobility for All under the Choose Your Move motto.
This year, a prize for road safety in an urban environment in the context of the EMW will also be awarded, which aims to highlight the efforts of local authorities to ensure safe conditions on the road in the cities. You can find further information here.