Postbank - legally registered as Eurobank EFG Bulgaria – has initiated a campaign for the rehabilitation of pedestrian crossings in Bulgaria.

Four zebra crossings were restored in Sofia on Wednesday as part of the campaign opened by Anthony Hassiotis, Country Manager of Eurobank EFG for Bulgaria; Minko Gerdzhikov, Deputy Mayor of Sofia on finance; Lyubomir Hristov, Deputy Mayor on transport; and senior officers of Bulgaria's Traffic Police Directorate.

The national campaign initiated by Postbank, the Bulgarian branch of Eurobank EFG, is entitled "Cross Safely", and is realized in partnership with the Traffic Police Directorate.

"With our "Cross Safely with Postbank" campaign we seek to focus attention on a very painful and very important cause, namely, protecting the health and safety of the people on the roads. Each one of us is a participant in the traffic – as driver, passenger or pedestrian. It is essential that we should be more careful and responsible towards ourselves and the others, and that we should cross streets only at designated crosswalks, which should be protected by the drivers. I thank the Traffic Police for helping in our joint cause to reduce traffic incidents," Postbank Manager Anthony Hassiotis stated at the launch of the campaign.

The representatives of the Traffic Police Directorate have praised the initiative of Postbank pointing out that one third of all traffic incidents in Bulgaria involve pedestrians.

"Three out of every ten road incident casualties over the fall and winter months in Bulgaria are pedestrians. The casualty rate in Bulgaria in such traffic areas is much higher than that in the major European countries. People in Bulgaria generally cross streets at red light, and massively do not use the designated crossings. The life-saving campaign of Postbank is crucial. Drivers become more disciplined when there are clear road signs," said Krasimir Kostov, chief inspector at the Traffic Police Directorate.

In addition to funding the rehabilitation of crosswalks, Postbank has issued information brochures with road safety advice which will be distributed in its offices around the country.

The initial stages of the campaign provide for the rehabilitation of crosswalks in Sofia, Varna, Stara Zagora and Vratsa but more cities and towns are to be included. The campaign aims at helping fix the problems with pedestrian crossings in Bulgaria which are not renovated very meticulously in general.

Postbank, legally named Eurobank EFG Bulgaria AD, is a member of Eurobank EFG Group, an European banking group present in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, UK, Luxembourg, and Cyprus.