It is the International Day of Drivers and Car Mechanics. Most companies in the field of transport in our country have been faced with a lack of qualified labor for the last few years who go to Western European countries where they get much better wages and working conditions.
Since 2019, more than 6,500 professional drivers have left Bosnia and Herzegovina. They all went to do the same job, but for much better wages and better working conditions. Also, in this same period, around 1,700 transport companies were re-registered from Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly to Slovenia and other EU countries.
NIKOLA GRBIĆ, president of the Association of Transporters of the RS
“I am afraid, as things have turned out, that in the next year, two, three, we will most likely be completely without this activity, that there will be no one to bring us goods, raw materials or to drive passengers, students and workers to work, school or beyond. If something doesn’t change. And now, as things stand, there is no will or desire to do anything.”
For professional drivers, in addition to low wages and poor working conditions, the work is made even more difficult by the very poor road infrastructure in our country. Bad roads are often the cause of traffic accidents for other road users as well. The high average age of vehicles in Bosnia and Herzegovina, roads must also be taken into account here, but a special problem is fast and often distracted driving, which is the biggest cause of traffic accidents.
ADNANA SPRECIĆ, spokeswoman of the MUP TK
“For example, in 2022, the total number of misdemeanor orders based on speeding, according to Article 44 of the Law on the Basics of Traffic Safety in BiH, was 39,938.”
This trend of traffic violations continued last year, and experienced drivers partly explain this as a consequence of the mentality of the Balkan peoples.
NURIJA KARIĆ, Association of Drivers and Car Mechanics Tuzla
“I, as a driver who retired, a long, long time ago, heard before this war, he says, to us Bosnians, that is, let’s say from the former Yugoslavia, it’s the same everywhere, we didn’t need a war. Just give us good cars, strong cars, fast, and we will kill ourselves. That is the reason.”
The government would have to finally do something to stop the departure of both transport companies and professional drivers from our country. Also, along with the improvement of road infrastructure, it is necessary to ensure better supervision and traffic control, and to tighten sanctions for irresponsible driving.
