The Bulgarian NGO Institute for Road Safety has commissioned an international auditor to conduct an impartial expert inspection of the condition of the roads before the severe accident on the Struma highway, in which 45 Macedonian citizens died.
As the MIA correspondent from Sofia reported, during the inspection it was concluded that the protective fences were not installed in accordance with the requirements. Numerous accidents occurred in the area of the accident, during which the protective fences were damaged. In this case, there was a re-installation of the object in the middle lane. The Institute for Road Safety suggests that there may have been a previous traffic accident in the same area. The guardrail attachment was incorrectly mounted with two instead of four screws, as required. This, they say, is the reason why the protective fence broke despite the low speed at which the bus hit.
– The fatal section of “Struma” was put into use 20 years ago without Act 16. It was determined that there are no signs and that there are damaged markings. A report has also been sent to the Road Infrastructure Agency, and this information should be checked by the Bulgarian investigating authorities, according to the NGO.
Source: MIA
