I have reliable information from a friend who is a Bulgarian Policeman that spot checks are no longer allowed unless there is a an obvious fault with a vehicle, i.e headlights not showing or a bulb blown.To say the least he is not happy because as we all know there are those who drive vehicles without a licence or insurance and the vehicle without any MOT (Technical Support)For those of you on British plates will get stopped as this is recognised as a valid check.
Along with this a directive has come out that anyone in Bulgaria who has not passed their High school certificate will not be eligable to pursue gaining a driving licence as from this year.This is classed as incentive to the younger generation to complete their education as many skip school or to not attend at all.

I agree with my friend that spot checks are a must as it keeps old bangers off the road and those who break the law.
I think the Goverment has shot it's self in the foot because if the Police are not allowed to do spot checks those children will still be able to drive vehicles without a licence.

The other note is that the MOT's here are no longer a look at the wiper blades and the lights.I had my truck had an MOT last week and it was as thorough as any MOT in the UK and a bit more.I spoke to the propriator and he said that all stations must have a camera front and rear of the MOT bay recording all the MOT's that are carried out.Also that all "
Danet Tax"
payments and MOT's certificates are now centralised in Sofia .As you may or may not know to have an MOT carried out you must have proof that you have paid the "
Danet Tax"
along with proof of insurance and a valid licence and registration.

Bulgarian Police

:Good post:speedgunner, I have reliable information from a friend who is a Bulgarian Policeman that spot checks are no longer allowed unless there is a an obvious fault with a vehicle, i.e headlights not showing or a bulb blown.

That could be because there are not to many old lada's on the road any more so there is not much revenue/income for the policeman's back pocket

Interesting post . I could write a book (as could most of us) on the antics of the police on traffic duties.

I sat in my favourite window seat at a roadside cafe yesterday and had a close up view of a couple of officers parked on the side of a very busy road here in Plovdiv..over a period of roughly an hour, at least 1000 (maybe more) vehicle passed these two guys and I noted more than a dozen had only one headlight and more than 50 had NO lights on at all! In all that time they stopped (not really) only one driver and he was spoken to by the officers because he sideswiped their police car and ripped off a mirror (he stopped straight away). Pleasantries were exchanged and he was on his way within a minute or two. Coming home from my country house this afternoon, I filmed (on my dash cam) a couple of traffic officers stopped at a roadside stall selling wine..they were obviously having a little 'try before you buy' exercise. I've actually seen this many times before.

As far as the MOT thing is concerned, the inspection station I use here in Plovdiv has been using the system you describe for the last two years and I've posted this before. EVERYTHING is recorded and entered into the computer at the time of testing..headlights, braking, mileage, exhaust emission readings, body condition, safety equipment, suspension points, windscreen condition etc. The last time I was there with the Jeep I sold to Berni and Dougie, I had a good chat with the operator and he was able to bring up the previous MOT on his video, complete with all the results from that date and show me various comparitive trends. ie how much brake pads had worn since that test and things like that.

That's one of the reasons when I post a vehicle for sale and state that the MOT is up to date, I'm not talking about what I think..more about what the test shows.

The topic is about Bulgarian Police and that covers a lot wider area than just KAT traffic police, so has any member got any history, information or true stories covering any involvement with Bulgarian police, and please include prosecutors and judges in that category, because most are all tarred with the same brush
Like you bgbazz I could write a book also

Speedgunners post dealt with Bulgarian TRAFFIC police and that's how I read and answered it.

bgbazz wrote:

Speedgunners post dealt with Bulgarian TRAFFIC police and that's how I read and answered it.

It wasn't a complaint about you or Bulgarian TRAFFIC police, it was me trying to involve more/other members by making the topic more interesting

just to make the point again the difference is from two years ago to this year is that all documentation is on a data base in Sofia including the payment of "
Danet"
tax"
.Yes they have been recording MOT'S with cameras as far back as two years ago but a recorded payment of "
Danet tax"
has been overlooked up until now.So when an MOT has taken place the "
Danet tax"
payment must be put on the data base which will be recorded in Sofia.Like some Bulgarians they have managed to avoid paying the "
Danet tax"
at let's say at dodgey MOT stations.Now this is impossible because if an MOT station fills out and issues the certificate which is recorded without payment of the "
Danet tax "
then the authorities in Sofia will know. A Bulgarian friend of mine who hasn't paid "
Danet tax"
for the last ten years is now going to lose the use of his car because if he takes into his MOT station he will have to produce payment of his "
Danet tax "
which will be back dated and will have to fork out 10x 240Leva or 2400Leva which he hasn't got.

Must have been at very dodgy inspection stations because having to prove the tax had been paid before a certificate and sticker would be issued has been a requirement here for well over two years..I actually posted something about the subject quite a while ago.