161 Drivers Suspended Hours within New Year

8 JAN 2021 - 161 drivers had their license suspended for violations during New Years night, ROADPOL member Bulgarian Traffic Police announced.

More than 5000 violations were detected by the enforcement officers just for the short period of 31 December 2020 – 1 January 2021, Chief Inspector Lachezar Bliznakov from the police force reported.

More than 80 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs were identified with one notoriuos instance of more than 2.72 per mille while Bulgaria's legal alcohol concentration limit is far lower at 0.5 per mille. Two drivers were cought driving doped with different types of illicit drugs it the capital Sofia. During the period a force of more than 400 police teams was deployed to the most traumatic stretches of road in the country. 127 of the patrols were equipped with speed cameras, Bliznakov added. For the whole holiday period 149 serious crashes occurred in the country resulting in 12 dead and 191 injured. While still concerning, the numbers are lower than the ones from a year ago – 195 crashes with 15 dead and 260 injured. The decline is due to the low travel activity because of the pandemic and Bulgaria's government decision to close restaurants at 22 hrs on New Years Eve.

Bulgarian Traffic Police have been impressively active since the early hours of 2021.

Photo: BTA