Protests demanding safer roads following the death of 12-year-old Siyana Popova took place across the country. Thousands of people gathered in the square in the village of Telish, Northwestern Bulgaria. "I am a voice, a father who lost his child, killed in the most brutal way on the road. I am one of the hundreds. This must never happen again in our country. We all need to wake up, stand up, reach out to each other, and engage in dialogue with all institutions, with the whole country, which is also asleep. This energy must continue, and from today we need to start writing not a black but a white page of saved lives", Siyana's father Nikolaj Popov said during the protest in Telish.

A protest was also held in front of the Council of Ministers building in Sofia. The protest was under the slogan “Enough death on the road”. Protesters demanded legislative changes ensuring road safety. Protests under the same slogan were held also in Plovdiv, Varna, Yambol, Razgrad, Troyan, Ruse, Smolyan, Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo and Samokov, reported BTA.  

People addressed the institutions with a call for decisive and effective measures to stop the war the roads, but also urged society to be more responsible on the road.

• Interior minister orders nationwide inspection of dangerous road sections

• Protests against war on the roads after death of a child in serious traffic accident

Despite the bad weather, a mass protest took place in front of the courthouse in Yambol. Dozens of residents of the district city and the area expressed their dissatisfaction with the state of the roads in the country and the lack of adequate penalties for offenders.

The people also expressed discontent with the work of the Road Infrastructure Agency. "I am a driver, and the state of the roads is simply shocking - there are huge holes on the road to Lesovo. There is no lighting and no markings - I've broken my car several times", said one of the protesters.

• 13,000 reports of poor road conditions have been filed by the Ministry of the Interior in 2024

• "Angels on the Road" association protests in Sofia against war on the roads