After a check by BNT: Trucks do not respect the ban on driving in high temperatures

Lorries on the hot asphalt. Although the fine for violating the driving ban for heavy goods vehicles is up to 200 leva - it turned out that it is massively not respected, and this deforms the road surfaces.

Due to the hot weather, the Road Infrastructure Agency issued a truck traffic ban, which applies to heavy goods vehicles exceeding 20 tonnes travelling in the districts of Rousse, Shumen and Targovishte. However, drivers are unhappy that they have to wait for more than 8 hours in their trucks in 40 degrees heat.

Driving ban for heavy goods vehicles over 20 tonnes in 3 districts in Bulgaria during hot weather

The temperature in Rousse at 13:30 on July 25 is almost 40 degrees. However, many of the trucks kept moving until a patrol of the traffic police intercepted them.

In the Shumen region, an arrangement was made for trucks to stop at three locations, but it took a while for the restriction to be enforced. The BNT team in Shumen made their own check.

The time was 14:45 and the air temperature was 35 degrees per Celsius. At this point, trucks exceeding 20 tonnes should not be passing on the main Shumen-Razgrad road, but the reality was different. 30 minutes later, the temperatures rose and a police team arrived on the road and started checking the trucks. Those that were empty continued on their way and those over 20 tonnes waited.

It turns out that the bitumen used for asphalt in the country softens at 55 degrees per Celsius. And in extremely hot weather, it heats up to 60-70 degrees. The high temperature damages the entire brake system, brake pads and tyres and the risk of an accident is even greater, road safety experts say.

"When you drive in summer weather with worn out tyres it's like driving on ice. The structure of the worn tire and the high temperature is a potential danger to burst. Brake system activity and function drop dramatically due to high temperatures. I'll show you now - 62 degrees is the temperature emitted by the tyre of a car that has just stopped. 62 degrees changes the structure of the brake pads," explained Angel Popov, road expert at the Centre for European Transport Policies.

"We have put the signs on the designated sections. 12 hours before the introduction of the ban, the sections that will be closed are notified on the RIA website," said Dimitar Kovachev, director of the Shumen Regional Road Department.

In the Byala municipality area, a police team began to turn away heavy trucks as soon as the mercury in the thermometers rose to 35 degrees.

"You can see the traffic jam, but on the other hand, if they let these heavy trucks through, they will further damage the asphalt pavement and today we noticed cracked asphalt in the area of the roundabout because the trucks are really heavy," said Byala Municipality Mayor Dimitar Slavov.

Only trucks carrying animals and perishable goods are allowed through in the hot weather. The ban on heavy goods vehicles will last until August 31 if temperatures are high. Drivers who do not comply will be fined from 50 to 200 leva and may lose the right to drive for 1 to 6 months.