Traffic

A kilometre-long traffic jam has formed near the 44 km mark of Hemus Motorway in the direction of the capital, Focus News Agency reports. The vehicles move in columns starting from the motorway entrance at Botevgrad. The reason for the congestion is the heavy traffic and the repair works in the area of the tunnels.

It has come to the attention of residents of the Greek capital that municipal police officers have recently embarked on an avid campaign to crack down on traffic violations, removing, in the process, an excessively large number of car license plates.

Intense traffic on Bulgaria's main roads is expected ahead of the Christmas holidays. The busiest traffic is expected to be at the exits of Bulgaria's capital Sofia, reported the Bulgarian National Television. 

More than 300,000 cars are expected to leave the capital.

Istanbul has ranked 15th among the cities with the most traffic in the world, according to a new report by transportation analytics firm INRIX. Among European countries, on the other hand, Istanbul ranked fourth in terms of worst traffic.

Lithuania's phone-addicted pedestrians will have to do without mobile devices when they cross streets under a new regulation approved on Wednesday as the Baltic country seeks to curb traffic deaths.

"Pedestrians must not use mobile devices before stepping onto the street or walking across it," Transport Minister Rokas Masiulis told a cabinet meeting that was broadcast live.

Across Iran's capital, rush-hour traffic always grinds to a halt, a sea of boxy Renault four-doors and Peugeot coupes all idling their way through the streets of Tehran.

Twenty people were killed and 425 were injured in 363 road accidents in Attica alone last month, according to the official data from the region's traffic police. 

Of those injured, 13 suffered serious trauma, while the rest were hurt lightly.

Sofia. Legislative changes to regulate new obligations are needed in order to improve safety on the roads, traffic safety expert Aleksi Stratiev told Focus Radio. In his words, experts will need time to analyse the legislation related to traffic safety, as each law comprises dozens of regulations.

Sofia. Legislative texts on safety belts have been drafted and will be sent to the Parliament in September, Automobile Administration Agency Director Boyko Ranovski told Nova TV this morning. "The belt issue is very important, brought up after each serious accident, and there is no room for retreat anymore, the law must be changed," he said.

There is heavy traffic on the borders with Greece, Serbia and Romania, according to Border Police data as of 2.00 pm. On Kalotina, there is heavy car traffic to Serbia. On Makaza and Kulata, many cars are travelling to Greece. On the border with Romania, there is heavy outbound traffic of trucks via Ruse and Vidin.