Analysis of the amendments to the Road Traffic Act (RTA)

Issue No. 64 of the State Gazette dated 05.08.2025 published significant amendments and additions to the Road Traffic Act (RTA), which aim to update the regulatory framework and cover a number of areas. According to some of the changes, municipal cameras and toll system cameras can now detect speeding, and driving outside urban areas at speeds exceeding 40 km/h above the speed limit will result in a fine of BGN 600 and a two-month suspension of the driver's license.

Below, we look at some of the most significant changes by topic.

• First, we will focus on the rules introduced for the first time regarding average speed on the road. 

The changes regulate that the average speed is the speed at which a road vehicle travels a certain section of the road for a certain time, determined by an automated technical device or by a sectional average speed control system. Average speed violations can be detected by the authorities through average speed section control systems. The concept of "average speed section control system" is also regulated, which is an approved and verified system for measuring the average speed of a vehicle on a specific section of road. It uses cameras installed at the beginning and end of the section, with each vehicle being classified and identified both on entry and exit, and the identification information is accompanied by precise time stamps together with the time taken to cover the distance, on the basis of which the average speed is calculated. If the average speed of a vehicle is higher than the speed limit in the monitored section, the system generates information about the violation. Digital evidence of the violation includes photos of the vehicle at the time of entry and exit, as well as metadata. The location of the violation when an average speed violation is detected is considered to be the end point of the controlled section of the road for which the violation was detected.

The electronic toll collection system generates reports for sectional average speed control. For each detected average speed violation for the respective controlled section of the road, static images in the form of photographs and/or dynamic images – video recordings – are automatically applied. The reports, together with the attachments thereto, constitute evidence of the circumstances reflected therein concerning the road vehicle, its registration number, the date, time, direction of travel, the average speed established in the controlled section of the road, and the location of the technical means that are part of the system. The electronic system exchanges information with the automated information systems of the Ministry of the Interior for the purpose of providing reports for the implementation of administrative penalties by the authorities.

A driver of a motor vehicle or a combination of road vehicles who exceeds the average speed for the relevant controlled section of the road by the specified values shall be punished with a penalty for the respective speeding. The average speed violation and the fines for it correspond to the amount of the violations and fines provided for exceeding the maximum speed.

The changes concerning the average speed shall enter into force on 06.09.2025.

Technical inspections will no longer be possible unless all fines issued via electronic tickets have been paid in advance.

Registered motor vehicles and trailers towed by them, as well as road vehicles used for transport for entertainment purposes, are subject to mandatory periodic inspections to verify their technical condition. The new provision is that the inspection to verify the technical condition of a road vehicle shall be carried out after establishing that the owner or the user entered in the registration certificate has no outstanding obligations, by means of an automated exchange of information between information systems, with the conditions, order and methods of information exchange, and the type and formats of data will be determined by an act of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Transport and Communications.

The changes in this part shall enter into force on May 6, 2026, nine months after the publication of issue 64 of August 5, 2025, of the State Gazette.

Control for the existence of a concluded and valid contract for compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance.

The electronic toll collection system will generate reports when it detects a road vehicle subject to periodic inspection that is participating in traffic without having undergone inspection and driving a motor vehicle for which there is no valid compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance contract. The reports automatically include static images in the form of photographs and/or dynamic images - video recordings, as well as data on the existence of a valid compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance contract. The reports constitute evidence of the circumstances reflected therein regarding the road vehicle, its registration number plate, the date, time, and place of movement on a section of the road, the location of the technical device—part of the system—and the existence of a valid compulsory insurance contract.

In order to control the existence of a compulsory insurance contract, the Road Infrastructure Agency provides the Ministry of Interior with information obtained through the electronic toll collection system on the registration numbers of road vehicles that have passed through the toll road network of the Republic of Bulgaria. In this regard, the Ministry of Interior checks road vehicles for the existence of a valid insurance contract through the exchange of information with the Guarantee Fund under Article 518 of the Insurance Code. If no valid insurance contract is found, the Ministry of Interior receives static images in the form of photographs of the passage detected by the electronic toll collection system from the Road Infrastructure Agency.

The changes concerning the creation of reports from The electronic toll collection system shall enter into force 9 months after the publication of issue 64 of 05.08.2025 of the State Gazette (06.08.25), and the changes concerning the exchange of information for the purpose of checking the existence of an insurance contract shall enter into force 6 months after the publication of the State Gazette (06.08.25).

• New rules for cyclists and users of personal electric vehicles

The regulations concerning bicycle riders have been updated. According to the changes, bicycle riders are required to wear a reflective vest or reflective elements on the visible part of their clothing, to ride as close as possible to the right edge of the roadway, during the dark hours of the day and/or in conditions of reduced visibility, they must ride their bicycle with a white or yellow light switched on at the front, and when crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing, they must dismount from their bicycle and cross on foot. At the same time, cyclists are prohibited from carrying other persons on their bicycles, except for children under 6 years of age or weighing up to 27 kg in specially designed and certified child chairs or seats, unless the bicycle is manufactured for use by more than one person, carry other persons on the bicycle if they are under 18 years of age, use a mobile phone, other mobile communication device, or other device that distracts their attention while riding, except for devices that allow their use without the use of their hands, or lead animals if they are riding on the roadway.

The changes regarding individual electric vehicles set the minimum age for driving an individual electric vehicle at sixteen years.  It is regulated that the driver of such a vehicle is obliged to ride on the bicycle infrastructure, and in the absence of such, as close as possible to the right edge of the roadway, to ride a roadworthy individual electric vehicle with a maximum speed of up to 25 km/h,  to wear a protective helmet, to have their lights on in conditions of reduced visibility and to wear a reflective vest or reflective elements, when crossing the roadway at a pedestrian crossing, dismount from the personal electric vehicle and cross on foot, have valid motor vehicle liability insurance. The driver of an individual electric vehicle is prohibited from driving an individual electric vehicle that is not registered, travels at speeds higher than 25 km/h, travels on roads and streets where the maximum speed limit is over 50 km/h, with the restriction not applying to streets with bicycle infrastructure, to drive during the dark hours of the day, to transport other persons, to drive the vehicle in areas intended for pedestrians only, and other prohibitions detailed in Article 80a, paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Act.

The changes in this section shall enter into force on 06.09.2025.

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This publication is informative in nature and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.