Amendments to the Penal Code and the Penal Procedure Code linked to safer driving were presented at a meeting organized at the National Assembly with families of road accidents’ victims. The meeting was organized by the parliamentary Internal Security Committee together with the Interior Ministry. The event was attended by the Committee Chairman Mr. Anastas Anastasov, the Deputy Interior Minister Mr. Tsvetan Tsvetanov, and the Chairman of the Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Committee Mr. Ivan Valkov, by members of the GERB parliamentary group and independent deputies, representatives from the “Protective Police” Directorate and from the capital Sofia Interior Ministry Directorate.

The Vice –President of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Internal Security Committee Anastas Anastasov presented the draft legislative amendments. He noted the latter could contribute to a more adequate behavior on the roads and to have a preventive role on people. Mr. Anastas Anastasov promised to submit and put to vote at the National Assembly the draft amendments.

The changes envisage additions to the current text of art. 343, paragraph 3 of the Penal Code as follows: to the “If the act is committed in a state of intoxication or after using narcotic substances and/or their analogues or it has caused a bodily injury or death to more than one person, or the perpetrator has escaped from the scene of the accident” is added “or has driven without being licensed, or on a pedestrian walk or ignoring the red light signal”. The same text currently envisions for severe or average bodily injury - imprisonment of up to five years, and in particularly severe cases - up to eight years. The proposal is for the imposed punishment to become “imprisonment from one to five years” and “from two to eight years”. Mr. Anastasov mentioned that most often the cause of road accidents is due to aggressive driving and driving faster than the allowed speed. He noted there is no problem to add to the text:  “and with 50 km higher than the allowed speed or the allowed speed for the particular road segment”. It was proposed to amend the present art. 68 prohibiting perpetrators of deadly road accidents from leaving the country to include drivers who have committed unpremeditated death in a road accident. The proposed amendments also prohibit the plea bargain under art. 342 and art. 343 of the Penal Code. 

The Chairman of the parliamentary transport committee Ivan Valkov said he backs the proposed amendments. He pointed out that even a sole victim on the road should be enough for the society to do everything possible to prevent it. Even though the statistics shows a decline in the number of victims in the last years we may not be satisfied.

The Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov recalled the promise given on 20 February 2012, at the roundtable “Together for safety on the road” to present a list of legislative amendments. As promised the amendments are a fact and will be submitted to the National Assembly and considered as soon as it is possible.