The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Ivaylo Moskovski announced today the measures undertaken to end the malpractice in EA "Road Transport Administration".
Minister Ivaylo Moskovski pointed out that one of the important steps to reform the training and the examinations of the applicants for driving licenses is related to the split of the Law on Road Traffic into three laws:
1. Law on vehicles, which will regulate issues related to the vehicles such as terms and conditions for the approval of the type of new vehicles; the registration of vehicles; performing of technical inspection, etc.
2. Law on drivers of motor vehicles, which will regulate the implementation of training and examinations of applicants for driving licenses; the psychological examinations; the requirements to individuals for the issuance of driving licenses, etc.
3. Law on Road Traffic, which will regulate the rules on the road; the requirements for the qualification of drivers; the rights and the obligations of road users, etc.
According to him, this amendment will lead to a refinement of the text without complicating the training and the examinations of the applicants for driving licenses. Tthrough this amendment will be avoided all gaps and the uncertainties, which will lead to a permanent reduction of the victims of road accidents.
In connection with the pre-trial proceedings led by the Specialised Public Prosecution Service and the information presented by it, a thorough inspection of the tests of the applicants for driving licenses is under way. Videos of all examinations conducted throughout the country in the previous three months are being reviewed. This period is consistent with the requirements of Regulation № 38 under which the records of the theoretical and the practical tests are kept for three months. However, if there is a technical possibility and there are records from a longer period, they will be also reviewed.
At present are discovered several ways for the manipulation of test results:
- Use of technical devices (headsets and cameras) through which the correct answers are dictated to the candidate by a person outside the test room;
- Appearance of another person at the exam instead of the one registered for the exam, with an ID card containing data of the applicant and a photo of the appearing person;
- By exchangie of tablets;
- By telling the correct answers during the exam by a candidate who sits nearby.
As a result of the irregularities ascertained in the conduct of the examinations for driving licenses from April 1, 2016 till now have been canceled the test results of 38 candidates.
Currently are also carried out complex inspections in the regional departments of the Executive Agency "Road Transport Administration" in Sofia, Vratsa, Blagoevgrad, Bourgas, Pleven and Vidin.
For the elimination of the malpractice in the future are envisaged the following measures:
1. Equipment of the test rooms with special booths for each separate workplace and opaque divisions that will insulate the candidates from one another.
2. Introduction of a requiriment for personal electronic devices and other technical means and tools of the candidates to be left outside the room at specially designated places and verification prior to entering the test room via detector.
3. Interception of the signal of mobile operators within a certain range in and around the test room.
4. Checking of the photos of those who apply for the test in the database for the ID cards of the Ministry of the Interior.
5. Introduction of electronic exams for applicants for driving licenсes for the carriage of dangerous goods and for obtaining a certificate for a consultant on the transportation of dangerous goods (exams ADR), as well as for the acquisition of taxi driver license and for a taxi activities operator.
6. Conducting of examinations for acquiring a certificate of professional competence for transport managers of public transportation of passengers or goods only in the test center of Executive Agency "Road Transport Administration" in Sofia, № 5, "Gen. Gurko" Str., not throughout the country, as it is now. The estimation of examination work will be executed in the test room equipped with surveillance cameras.
7. Reduction of the terms for the issuing of the licenses for public transportation of passengers and goods.
8. Introduction of permanent surveillance of the tests conducted by Executive Agency "Road Transport Administration" by review of the records of the tests.