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Stop the Slaughter on Our Highways! ... |
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 Stop the Slaughter on Our Highways! |
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In October 2004, the FDBF organized a large international conference, “Stop the Slaughter on our Highways”, dedicated to the traffic safety problems in Bulgaria. |
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We chose to focus on this specific problem since we share the concerns expressed by wide social circles about the tragic traffic incidents which occur daily on the roads of Bulgaria. Every single day Bulgaria loses precious human lives; the figure of the injured is a two-digit number; the national economy suffers significant losses!
The EU countries have dedicated years to the implementation of large-scale programs related to dealing with traffic safety problems. In its “White Book”, published in 2001, the European Commission puts as a goal to the member countries a 50% reduction in traffic deaths – a goal which they have to fulfill by 2010.
Of special interest to us was the example set forth by France as well as the decision of its President Jacques Chirac to define traffic safety as one of the priorities during his second mandate. The initiative was strongly supported by civil society and the Robert Schumann Foundation has published an excellent research study conducted by the journalist Beatrice Houchard focused on traffic safety and the measures that should be taken in that direction in France and in Europe.
Inspired by this example, the FDBF commissioned a research on the traffic safety in Bulgaria which was published in 18,000 copies with an introduction by the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov under the title “Stop the slaughter on our highways”.
Our initiative also enjoyed an incredibly positive response among the Ambassadors of the Scandinavian countries in Sofia, which, beyond any doubt, are Europe’s pioneers in traffic safety. The Embassies of Denmark, Finland and Sweden supported the organization of the conference as they ensured the participation of experts from their countries and shared their decades of valuable experience. The Robert Schumann Foundation also supported the participation of Beatrice Houchard in the conference.
Many representatives of the Bulgarian institutions and of civil society who feel strongly about the matter took part in the conference. The reasons for the alarming state of traffic safety in the country, the measures that need to be taken, and the possibilities for using the experience gathered by the EU countries were discussed calmly and open-heartedly. The conference opened a wide public discussion and many proposals made at the conference led to the adoption and implementation of legislative measures to combat this national threat.
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