Drink-Driving in Bulgaria

Figures

In Bulgaria, all active participants in a road collision are tested for alcohol.

In 2019, 52 people above the legal limit died in a road collision and 522 were injured
whereas 27 died in 2020 and 523 were injured.

National policies

Current measures in force :

Procuring up-to-date breathalysers and teaching police officers to use them;
Teaching traffic police officers to better recognise and profile drink-drivers;
Campaigning against drink-driving and raising awareness of the dangers;
Lectures from police officers in schools with a special focus on the risks of driving under the
influence of alcohol;
Reporting on certain road collisions to raise awareness, mentioning the BAC of the driver.

BAC limits and sanctions

0.5 for all drivers

Check the detailed list of sanctions in the full report here

Enforcement

There are no available data on police checks. However, there is data for the two European-wide
ROADPOL campaigns for drug and alcohol enforcement, which take place twice a year. Bulgarian
traffic police managed to check around 20,000 drivers during each week. The number of drivers
found with a BAC above the legal limit is around 600 per year

Rehabilitation and Alcohol Interlock programmes

No Alcohol Interlock programme adopted so far.

Campaigns

In 2020, the State Agency for Road Safety organised a campaign at Christmas time
when people usually consume more alcohol, in partnership with the most well-known
vlogger in Bulgaria, whose video reports cover automotive and road traffic safety
topics.

Another campaign “Alcohol is a Bad Driver”, launched by Kamenitza AD, is one of the
biggest and well-known campaigns in Bulgaria, promoting responsible behaviour on
the road, and raising awareness about drink-driving. Three videos were developed in
partnership with the National Police and the Red Cross.

To read the full country focus click here.