Toll system cameras installed across Bulgaria’s national road network are now being upgraded to monitor not only vehicle tolls but also speeding violations, following amendments to the Road Traffic Act. These changes allow the cameras to track a vehicle’s average speed over specific road sections.

Eng. Oleg Asenov, Director of the National Toll Administration, told Nova TV that data collected from these average speed checks will be automatically transmitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The process of issuing fines will follow the current protocol, with violators receiving notifications via SMS or chat platforms within a few days. The amount of fines will remain the same as those already set for speeding.

The system currently operates in a test phase and no fines have been issued yet. In total, 294 additional cameras will be used for speed monitoring, with one pair of cameras per monitored section. The average speed tracking will focus on short road segments ranging from 2 to 20 kilometers in length, particularly where accident rates are higher.

According to Asenov, around 80 such sections will be monitored in the initial stage. Key routes include Sofia–Kulata with 8 to 10 segments, Sofia–Varna with up to 12, and Sofia–Plovdiv with 4 to 5 segments. The road from Troyan to Sofia already has nine cameras suitable for average speed control. He stressed that selecting sections with a high frequency of accidents is critical to maximizing road safety and deterrence.

The system operates by reading license plate numbers and identifying vehicle types at both the entry and exit points of the monitored segment. Only vehicles passing through the entire section can be registered for violations, eliminating false readings for vehicles not present.

Additionally, toll cameras may be used in the future to detect aggressive driving behaviors, such as tailgating, using a built-in short-distance monitoring function.