Despite the legislation having been implemented, and indeed some cars have already been seized under the new law, confusion still reigns as to what happens when the vehicle is owned by someone other than the driver.
Maria Markova, district attorney for the Burgas area, told mediapool.bg:
“The public is still not aware of what happens to cars when they are owned by legal entities or individuals, or when they are the subject of a marital property. But I think that a practice will be established in the near future.”
The vehicles seized through the new legislation are to be kept at secure parking areas owned by the country’s Ministry of the Interior.
However, Andrey Yankulov, a former Bulgarian deputy minister of Interior and Justice, now leader of an anti-corruption organisation, says the new law conflicts with existing laws and thus may not be entirely legal in itself.
The possibility of a haulier losing a truck through a drink-driving charge nonetheless remains of serious concern to Bulgarian hauliers.
“We are against it because the National Insurance Commission is starting from the point of view of young drivers who drive powerful cars after consuming alcohol and drugs. No one looked from the point of view of businesses and transport companies. A relatively new car is far cheaper than a heavy-duty vehicle. The police have no right to confiscate an item that belongs to an owner other than the person who drives the vehicle. The police do not have the right to confiscate the vehicle from the person whose property it is. The confiscation is decreed by the court,” Dimitar Dimitrov from Bulgaria’s Chamber of Motor Carriers told Bulgaria On Air.
Dimitrov added:
“What does a carrier do when the given driver is transporting food products that must be kept under a certain temperature, such as medicines, ADR goods, or fuel? It is not the first time that a heavy goods vehicle has been seized. In all previous cases, they are seized as physical evidence, but in this specific situation, the truck is not the reason for any violation.”
Photo: Steve Bowbrick / Flickr / CC BY 2.0