The annual technical inspections of passenger cars caused an uproar among Bulgarian drivers, because it turned out that many cars did not can cross them and must be stopped from moving, reported BGNES.
Mass hysteria occurred after the key date of July 22. Then all the points for carrying out annual inspections had to be connected with the State Agency “Automotive Administration“ (TAI) otherwise they cannot work. Most of them still contacted within a week because the other option was to close their doors. Installing the new software costs about BGN 1,000 on average, but this money is recovered very quickly. The examinations themselves, which last year cost an average of about BGN 50, have now almost doubled and are carried out for about BGN 90, our check showed. This naturally caused great dissatisfaction among drivers.
It used to be possible for a car to pass an inspection without a catalytic converter or if there were any other technical faults, that's gone now. The computer is currently determining whether the car meets the criteria, there is no possibility of the data being tampered with.
According to the experts we contacted, even if a car is not “prime youth“, if it is maintained, it will pass the annual test.
Where is the problem with petrol cars?
In social media, information has appeared about many cases when new cars with gasoline engines, manufactured in the last 4-5 years, do not pass technical examinations. At the same time, cars 10-20 years old with diesel engines pass the tests without any problems.
One of the reasons for the appearance of this problem is that the measurement is different for gasoline and diesel cars. With diesels, only the smoke that comes out of the exhaust is measured and they pass this stage with that. For this reason, there are far fewer returned cars.
For gasoline cars, even low-quality fuel that was poured a few days ago can affect the final result of the inspection. So someone can get hurt even if they poured cheap gas, trying to save a few leva. The advice of the experts in this case is, as in the proverb, not to be cheap on flour, but expensive on bran.
New cars with catalytic converters have no MOT problem
New cars, when in working order, cover emissions accordingly. This was stated to BGNES by Georgi Karadjov, the owner of a point for technical inspections of passenger cars in the "Dragalevtsi" district of the capital.
He doesn't know where these claims about petrol cars failing tests come from. “I do not know what these claims are due to. When the car is in working order, it has catalytic converters and everything is available, the engine is in good condition, there are no problems with the measurements. Especially when it comes to these new cars that are still under warranty“, Karadjov shared his personal observations.
While we are in its center, several cars that have been produced in recent years pass before our eyes, and none of them gives any deviation during the measurements.
The problem with catalytic converters is that they are missing from older cars. There are other reasons, such as fuels are not always of good quality, oils are also. They also make an impact. “The biggest problem is the lack of catalysts. The shortage exists because this spare part is very expensive to replace. It costs thousands of BGN and it is not justified for a person with an old car to replace the catalytic converter, said Georgi Karadjov.
However, he has also heard of problems and attributes it primarily to the fleet. “In different places, depending on the park, people do face such problems. I listen to colleagues who have 7-8 cars in other places, which have to stop because of traffic, which is not pleasant," said Georgi Karadjov.
According to him, it is necessary to think about the issue and take into account the fact that in Bulgaria the car industry is still old: “This foreshadows that there will be a problem with such old cars under the tightened measures. When we are talking about a new car, there are no problems. When we talk about old, naturally the problems arise”.
He thinks that the state should think about some compromise option. “There are indeed old cars that are not up to standards, but at the same time they cover a very small mileage in a calendar year. This makes them less polluting. There should be some tolerance. Maybe restrict their access to city centers, increase their taxes. Come up with a regulation to restrict them, but allow people to drive these cars. Sometimes, in order to restore such a car, the value that a person will get is as much as the value of the whole car”, said Georgi Karadjov.
The director of the DAI was fired, Glavchev demanded strict control over fuels
The problem with technical reviews has also been transferred to the legislative level. In the National Assembly, it was put as a question to acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev during Friday's blitz control. Deputy Angel Slavchev from "Vazrazhdane" asked the Prime Minister when a task force would be formed to change the ordinance. In response, Glavchev stated that he had signed the order for the release of the director of the DAAI, Dimitar Muerov, and that a working group was to be created.
„There have been problems with the technical reviews, which I think is enough. The Minister of Transport has offered me the dismissal and I have agreed to his dismissal. The motives are clear – the agency is not functioning as it should be based on what the citizens say. "Don't look for a political motive," Glavchev said.
According to him, the problem should not be solved by returning the old rules and thus not fulfilling the European ones. “There are set values there, which are according to a European directive, which cannot be changed. I realized that the problem is in low-quality fuels. Rather, control should be raised there. It is better to increase the quality of fuels than to lower values according to a European directive, Dimitar Glavchev is categorical.
The Prime Minister has proposed to hold a public discussion on the matter.