Bulgarian Pedestrians More Careless Than Car Drivers, Police Say

Pedestrians in Bulgaria are nearly twice as careless compared to car drivers, statistical figures have shown.

According to Traffic Police data, almost 10,000 pedestrians have been fined for crossing the street in violation of regulations in the first nine months of the year, while less than 5,800 car drivers have been fined for violating pedestrians' right of way.

The large discrepancy in numbers can be explained partly by the size of the fines levied on drivers and pedestrians. While pedestrians are fined BGN 20 (EUR 10) for crossing the street outside a marked crosswalk, fines for car drivers taking the right of way of pedestrians start from BGN 100 (EUR 50).

A total of 105 pedestrians have lost their lives in Bulgaria since the beginning of the year in road accidents and more than 1,400 others have been injured.

Pedestrians older than 64 years are the most vulnerable ones and they account for 60% of all pedestrian casualties recorded in the first nine months, police inspector Asen Karadzhov told bTV channel.

Alexi Stratiev, former Director of Bulgaria's Traffic Police, said in early October that more than 500 people had been killed in car accidents since the beginning of the year.