BULGARIA'S ROAD POLICE TO TAKE AWAY EU DRIVERS LICENSES

09:05 Tue 04 Sep 2007

Bulgaria's road police now has the right to take away the driving license of EU citizens who violate Bulgarian driving regulations.

Bulgarians who fail to observe local driving regulations while abroad in the EU will have their driving licenses confiscated in accordance with relevant legislation of the country, Bulgarian daily Monitor said.

The changes in Bulgaria's driving regulations became valid as of September 1 2007.

Until now foreign drivers usually received only minor fines for violating driving rules in Bulgaria. The new convention's text says that the violator's home country has no right to replace the confiscated driving license with a fine or any other penalty.

According to Bulgarian legislation, drivers who are caught speeding 30 km for the second time will have their driving licenses taken away for a period of three months.

Greece regulations are stricter than that. Drivers will have their driving license taken away for two months at the first violation.

Drunken drivers in Greece can lose their driving licenses for five years, while Bulgarian legislation envisions a penalty of up to one year for such a violation.

Comments

Comments by Pantelis Mina - 05:22 04 Sep 2007
	I am a UK citizen and since Christmas 2005 I have come to Bulgaria 4 times and stayed here for months. I don't think that the police has the right to confiscate people's driving licences and certainly not in the United Kingdom. At least as far as the UK is concerned, I am absolutely sure about it. In the UK, a driving licence can be removed only after a court decision. In the UK, people would be outraged to hear that the police exercise such powers which are characteristic of authoritarian regimes. Only the competent courts have such powers.
Comments by Steven - 08:39 04 Sep 2007
	I can't understand you Pantelis Mina, when you live in a country or just visit it, you are under the laws of this country. When someone, anywhere he/she's from makes trouble in UK, he has to respond of his/her action in front of UK court isn't it?
Comments by Pantelis Mina - 18:01 07 Dec 2007
	And I can't understand you, Steven. Where did I say that you should not obey Bulgarian law? All I was doing was to express an opinion. Don't you think that's a basic human/civil right?