ROAD SAFETY AND NOVICE DRIVERS IN BULGARIA

Road safety is a serious problem in both developed and developing countries. Each year road traffic accidents take the life of more than 1 million people and injure another tens of millions. The European Union has prepared a strategy which aims to lessen the negative impact of this issue. Among all member countries Bulgaria performs worst in meeting the pre-set target levels or road deaths and road injuries. The research paper discusses the topic of road safety in Bulgaria and it has for a research question \"What measures have to be taken in order to ensure that novice drivers contribute positively towards the road safety in Bulgaria\". This research question has been approached from two aspects - firstly the paper analyzes all available data on road accidents and secondly it discusses survey-gathered data from novice drivers in the country. The general findings are that if the Government wants to improve the road safety situation and eventually meet the target levels it must address the driving courses, it must perform more effective road safety campaigns, it should strengthen the control and there must be a cooperation with the insurance companies.