Pursue an active policy to improve road safety in the Republic of Bulgaria by ensuring coordination among institutions, as well as between institutions and society, in order to take adequate measures, based on prevention, objective and systematic analysis, in order to significantly reduce the adverse effects of road traffic accidents.
The State Public Consultative Committee on Road Safety is an advisory body to the Council of Ministers for the coordination of actions between government authorities and the public in relation to road safety issues. The Chairperson of State Agency Road Safety chairs the Committee. Deputy chairs include a Deputy Minister of the Interior, a Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, and a Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications. Representatives of NGOs, industry organizations, business clusters, higher education institutions, and research institutes active in the field of road safety participate as observers in the Committee’s activities. The Committee convenes at least four times a year to monitor the status of road safety, decide on current issues, adopt annual updates of action plans and implementation reports, and identify ongoing preventive/remedial measures to curb road trauma.
District administrations have a number of commitments related to coordinating functions in the area of road safety to support inter-institutional interaction at the district level.
Pursuant to Article 167b of the Road Traffic Act, district governors organize, coordinate, manage, and supervise the implementation of the road safety policy at the district level by setting up District Road Safety Commissions.
The role of District Road Safety Commissions includes planning, coordinating, and reporting on activities related to road safety improvement across the district; implementation of the National Strategy for Road Safety in the Republic of Bulgaria 2021-2030, and implementation of Action Plans thereto; making proposals to competent authorities on concrete measures and following up on their implementation.
In this regard, SARS has developed the Uniform Rules of Procedure of District Commissions, which help to: achieve coherence and synchronization in the work of all institutions and departments whose work is relevant to road safety; identify highly effective road safety measures and activities; address ongoing and extraordinary issues with an impact on road safety; ensure coordinated support for projects, joint activities and initiatives.
A key aspect of District Commissions’ work is the planning, coordination, and reporting of the implementation of measures to improve road safety in the districts through the preparation of annual planning programs and reports in line with the National Strategy for Road Safety in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Action Plans for its implementation, and the methodological guidelines provided by the Chair of State Agency Road Safety.
The question of how to improve connectivity while limiting congestion, road accidents, and environmental pollution is one of the major societal challenges. A modern European city must therefore seek and offer more balanced and sustainable solutions to improve mobility, taking into account its specific circumstances and existing local potential. The prosperity of cities linking labor, investment, education, health, leisure, recreation, etc. markets depends heavily on accessibility, which is directly facilitated by transport systems.
Modern visions of urban development are thus increasingly focused on human beings and their needs for sustainable mobility (economic, social, and environmental). Historically, the use of private cars has been seen as a priority over public transport, cycling or walking options. A conceptually new approach to the common framework organization of mobility is needed, with the road transport system increasingly geared toward the movement of persons, offering efficient alternatives to conventional motorized traffic by private vehicles.
Municipalities have a number of commitments related to road safety management, which require the implementation of a complete cycle of visual patrols and surveys of the municipal road and street network, analysis, prioritization, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of infrastructure and other measures, most conducive to improved safety.
On the one hand, pursuant to Article 167c of the Road Traffic Act, mayors of municipalities: organize, coordinate, manage and supervise the implementation of the road safety policy at the municipal level; plan and report on the implementation of measures to improve road safety in the municipality by drawing up annual municipal programs and reports in accordance with the National Strategy for Road Safety in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Action Plans for its implementation, and the methodological guidelines provided by the Chair of SARS. On the other hand, the Roads Act stipulates new procedures for municipalities to ensure a consistently high level of road safety. In order to achieve better results, the scope of Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management was extended by the adoption of Directive (EU) 2019/1936, providing for more procedures and a wider range of roads in municipalities to which they apply, transposed in a timely manner into national law.
In so far as municipalities play a key role in the process of organizing, coordinating, managing, and monitoring the implementation of the road safety policy at the municipal level, SARS provides methodological support with a view to supporting the implementation of the statutory functions of municipalities in the context of the new operational environment.
State Agency Road Safety, has established, as an advisory body, the Council for Cooperation with the Scientific and Academic Community. It brings together representatives of accredited higher education institutions and scientific organizations, which are active and can therefore contribute in the field of road safety. The Council carries out its activities based on an annual work program, setting out the priorities and tasks for the following year.