Bulgarian Passerby Fined for 'Volunteering' as Traffic Officer

Society | September 20, 2013, Friday // 11:52
Bulgaria: Bulgarian Passerby Fined for 'Volunteering' as Traffic Officer A photo showing Krastev as he directed traffic quickly became popular on social media, with many citizens and pundits praising him for his courage. Photo by bTV/Facebook

A young Bulgarian man who bravely stepped in to direct traffic after a traffic light glitch at a busy intersection in the capital Sofia has been slapped a fine by local authorities.

Kosta Krastev was passing by as he saw a heavy traffic jam at the Pette Kyosheta (“Five Corners”) intersection in downtown Sofia on Monday.

With no traffic officer in sight, Krastev decided to take matters into his own hands and started directing traffic.

“Drivers swore at me for the first five minutes, as I was not wearing any jacket. But then they started following my movements,” he later told the bTV channel.

The man said he relied on his “intuition” as he succeeded in directing traffic for approximately an hour.

Several police cars passed during that time, with police officers failing to react, according to local media.

A photo showing Krastev as he directed traffic quickly became popular on social media, with citizens and pundits praising him for his courage.

But Bulgarian traffic police authorities have now issued him a fine of BGN 300 (EUR 153) over the incident, noting that he created a risk for himself and others.

“I am unemployed, I cannot afford to pay this,” he told the Bulgarian National Television on Friday.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Society » Be a reporter: Write and send your article
Tags: traffic, traffic jam, traffic officer, intersection, traffic light glitch, sofia

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria