The actions of the "Traffic Police" to control heavy goods vehicles in the country continue after the serious accidents on the "Trakia" highway in July. In just six days, over 400 trucks have been inspected, and the violations remain numerous – from technical malfunctions and overloading to driving after drinking alcohol. According to the police, a certain decrease in violations is already being reported in Sofia, but the control remains intensified, BNT reported.
The flow of heavy goods vehicles at the Sofia exit on "Tsarigradsko Shose" Blvd. remains continuous. At the very beginning of the inspections, our team witnessed a prerequisite for a traffic accident, after a passenger car with a foreign registration hit a truck. Fortunately, there was no accident.
"We recently witnessed a situation between a driver of a car with a foreign registration - in this case a French one - and a truck with a Bulgarian registration. Similar cases often occur with cars with French, German, Belgian or Dutch registration - the so-called guest workers. They are already tired after the long journey from Western Europe and it is on the territory of Bulgaria that we notice serious accidents, in which, unfortunately, there are often fatalities", pointed out Senior Inspector Grigor Borisov, "Traffic Police".
The checks by the "Traffic Police" began after the two serious accidents with trucks on the "Trakia" highway in mid-July. The goal is to limit road injuries and prevent serious accidents caused by technically defective or overloaded trucks.
"The operations show that there are quite a few drivers who drive irresponsibly and operate technically defective trucks. Over 400 trucks and a total of 420 drivers and passengers were checked for the period from July 25 to 30. 185 drivers were issued tickets under the Road Traffic Act, and the rest were issued with administrative violation notices. The checks are carried out jointly with employees of the "Automobile Administration", who also found violations," said Insp. Borisov.
Among the most common violations are worn tires, brake system malfunctions, improperly secured loads and overloading of vehicles.
"Overloading is also a particularly serious problem. Last week, on "Botevgradsko Shose", our team stopped a truck for inspection, which was visibly overloaded. After checking with a mobile scale of the "Automobile Administration", it was found that the vehicle was nearly 5,000 kilograms above the maximum permissible mass," he explained.
The inspection also covers compliance with the restrictions on the movement of heavy goods vehicles on busy days - Friday and Sunday, as well as the regulated rest periods for drivers.
"These measures must be observed. There is a clear regulation on driving and rest times, and on Fridays and Sundays, "Traffic Police" throughout the country applies restrictions on the movement of heavy goods traffic. When a serious violation is detected, a report is drawn up, and in the case of the overloaded truck, the vehicle was stopped from driving for a period of one month," said Senior Inspector Borisov.
According to him, the reason for such violations is often the desire to save time and money:
"Drivers and owners of trucks strive to save time and money. It is important to emphasize that the responsibility does not only lie with the drivers, but primarily with the owners of the vehicles."
After the strengthening of control, a certain positive effect is already being reported.