Romania lags in speed monitoring; Bulgaria’s toll system detects significant reduction in speeding violations.
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Romania has lagged in implementing a speed system, with plans to install 550 devices on highways and busy roads to monitor technical inspections, mandatory insurance, and average speed. The system was intended to be funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan, but administrative delays mean it may not be ready this year. Currently, one hundred cameras have been installed mainly on newly built highway sections, but they are non-functional. Two more contracts for 50 additional cameras have been signed, but no contractor has been selected for a large contract covering 400 cameras. The National Road Agency hopes to award the full system tender by summer so it can operate next year, though the Ministry of Transport is less optimistic, suggesting 2028. Once implemented, the cameras are expected to cover about 1500 kilometers out of Romania’s 16,000 total road kilometers, with all 1400 highway kilometers under surveillance. In contrast, Bulgaria began measuring average speed last summer after years of discussion and necessary legislative changes allowed its data to be used as evidence for traffic violations such as driving in the emergency lane, not wearing a seatbelt, and exceeding the average speed limit. Average speed is measured on 69 sections or over 1100 kilometers, with authorities stating they can expand the system’s scope since the toll management has 295 devices; the measurement assesses the time taken to cover a specific distance relative to the section’s speed limit. The National Toll Management head reports a significant drop in speeding drivers, noting that violators have decreased more than threefold in average speed monitoring sections. Before the toll system, police relied on fewer stationary and mobile cameras, which did not cover the road network as comprehensively as the toll system.
