Road Haulage Ban on Freight Trucks to Be Introduced

BULGARIA – In a bid to unclog the state road system during the busy holiday period the Government's Infrastructure Road Agency has announced road haulage activities for heavier freight trucks and some other vehicle classes will be restricted until September 2012.

The ban will make it illegal to travel on the network for heavier classes of freight trucks, with or without trailers, and for tractors and other agricultural machinery which tends to slow the network during the Summer. The action follows reports of heavier than usual road casualties nationally with one day last week seeing eighteen people injured in 16 accidents with a total of over 100 accidents on that day in Sofia alone.

Bulgaria operates a vignette system similar to that proposed for introduction in Britain which applies to private cars as well as freight trucks plus road tolls at key points and the new ban will come into effect from the 12th April and run until the 30th September 2012 operating between the hours of 16.00 to 22.00.