Bulgaria starts using toll cameras to catch lorries breaking no-overtaking rules
As of July 1, Bulgaria’s National Toll Administration has begun using toll cameras to catch lorries breaking the rules in road sections where they are not allowed to overtake.
Months ago, Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency placed signs on soms sections of motorways barring lorries from overtaking.
However, observations by The Sofia Globe when travelling in recent weeks and months are that these rules frequently are broken, with lorries disregarding them to switch recklessly and slowly into the passing lane, often forcing motorists to have to brake sharply to avoid a collision.
National Toll Administration director Oleg Asenov told Nova Televizia on July 2 that on the first day that the operation went into effect, 485 offenders had been detected. During the test month of June, there were more than 13 000, Asenov said.
In a statement on its website, the National Toll Administration said that when a heavy lorry is detected overtaking where this was forbidden, the system will generate a record of evidence containing several photographs of the vehicle – from the front, rear and sides.
The record will also contain information about the date, time and place of registration, the lane, the vehicle category and the current speed.
Initially, the new functionality will be active in 15 sections. Twelve are on the Trakia Motorway in the districts of Stara Zagora, Pazardzhik and Yambol, and the remaining three are on the Hemus Motorway in the Shoumen district.
The generated evidence will be provided to the Interior Ministry for further law enforcement action, the toll administration said.
It said that the introduction of the new functionality is part of measures to increase traffic safety during the active summer season, when traffic on motorways is significantly more intense.
The aim is to limit the movement of heavy goods vehicles in the overtaking lane in violation of the restrictions, to improve traffic organisation and to ensure a safer and more peaceful journey for all road users, it said.
(Photo: National Toll Administration)
