Head of Road Administration in Bulgaria’s Pernik axed after being caught drink-driving

The head of the Road Administration in the Bulgarian town of Pernik, Petar Basmadzhiev, has been dismissed after being caught driving with a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit, Bulgarian media reported on December 16.

Fast-track pre-trial proceedings have been initiated against Basmadzhiev, who took office as head of the Road Administration in Pernik on October 1, and is a municipal councillor for the Bulgarian Democratic Union – Radicals, which is in coalition with Boiko Borissov’s GERB party in the town.

Traffic police stopped Basmadzhiev shortly before 4am on December 15 in the centre of Pernik.

A breathalyser test established that his blood-alcohol level was 1.6 promilles. The legal blood-alcohol limit for motorists in Bulgaria is 0.5 promilles. He declined to undergo a blood test and was taken into 24-hour custody.

A motorist found with that blood-alcohol level faces driving licence cancellation and imprisonment of one to three years.

Slavi Lazov, head of the Traffic Police in Pernik, told Nova Televizia that Basmadzhiev had told police when he was stopped that he had drunk three rakias, a traditional fruit-based Bulgarian spirit drink.

Amid the Festive Season and given a recent increase in road accidents, Bulgarian Traffic Police have stepped up law enforcement, including checks for drink-driving and driving after using illegal drugs.

(Photo: Zsuzsanna Kilian)

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