In 10 months, the Sofia police confiscated more than 360 cars. They are usually in piles in front of the regional offices before being moved to special parking lots.
"We have 4 on the territory of Sofia, but during the initial actions, the motor vehicles themselves must be nearby and then we move them to the appropriate parking lots,'' explained Commissioner Nikolay Krusharski - head of the capital's "Road Police", quoted from New Television.
And among the confiscated cars there is also a wagon with iron. But there are also precedents. The Sofia District Court refused to take away the car of Ivaylo Tsvetkov - Noyzi, who was caught driving drunk at the end of last year. According to the judge, these changes in the Criminal Code contradict the Bulgarian Constitution and the law of the European Union.
"We are on the executive side and we enforce the laws in their entirety. Are they correctly written - we will continue to implement them, if not - we will wait for new regulations", he is categorical.
Drivers have the right to refuse a field test or blood sample. According to Commissioner Krusharski, the law works, and the results are proof of that. "At the moment, 10 road users have died on the territory of Sofia, while last year there were 22," said the commissioner.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been 36 accidents on pedestrian paths in Sofia, luckily none of them fatal. At the same time, over 1,000 pedestrians were fined.
Days before the start of the summer vacation, the traffic police urge: "When driving in populated areas, at any moment expect a child to appear on the road. They are there to play. Be foresighted and if they see a ball rolling down the road after it, a child will come. The high temperatures themselves affect the drivers, the heat additionally tires them, and the driving, respectively. One piece of advice - to take more frequent breaks during long journeys," adds Krusharski.
From the beginning of the summer, traffic police officers in Sofia will drive a well-known brand of German cars with over 335 horsepower. "They are very good, high-quality, with a serious resource under the hood. They are aggressive and fast on the road in order to catch up with offenders. The cars were acquired from the Traffic Safety Fund, where money is accumulated from speeding fines imposed by offenders, said the director of the Traffic Police.
Modern cars will be driven on high-speed roads, but have not yet been raced. "We have to respond to the need to be adequate on highways where really high speeds are developed," he notes.
The traffic police arsenal is expected to increase with 270 tripod and stationary cameras by the end of the year. According to Krusharski, this is a kind of prevention. Even if you want to exceed - you know that there are and you reduce.
Jiggits on the road are mostly drivers between the ages of 18 and 35. But the traffic police noticed that women drive drunk more than men.
Bad weather increases road accidents, which are mostly minor. "They are mostly due to not keeping a distance and distracting with a phone,", explains the policeman.
No one is insured. Even the Ministry of Interior. "We had a traffic accident with our company car. Another driver, coming out of a parking lot, suddenly presses the gas and hit his colleagues head-on. Both drivers have tested negative for alcohol and drugs," he reveals.
According to the head of the capital “Traffic Police” the mentality of the Bulgarian driver is changing. "There is hope to change our thinking and I think we are slowly getting better. Quite often, our people have to drive outside the border and see what the rules are. The sensible leader brings them to our territory," Commissioner Krusharski believes.