First Crash Involving Sofia’s New High-Speed Patrol Cars (UPDATE)

Update: Following claims on social media about a new police car from the Ministry of the Interior being involved in an accident, initially posted on the Facebook group "Disasters in Sofia," we investigated the matter. The post included a photo of the vehicle and suggested it was the first incident with these new police cars. However, the District Police Directorate - Sofia's press center clarified that there was no crash; rather, the police car had a flat tire on the "Hemus" highway. Footage circulated online showing the car being lifted with a jack was simply during the process of changing the tire. Despite these clarifications, misconceptions have arisen about these recently introduced high-speed vehicles, which were deployed at the beginning of June. In summary, the claims of an accident involving the police car are untrue. While the photo is genuine, the vehicle did not crash as initially reported, and we apologize for any confusion caused.

What we reported earlier: The first incident involving one of the new luxury BMW police patrol cars, which arrived at the beginning of the month, occurred today in Sofia. There are currently no reports of injuries from the crash.

News of the accident surfaced from a post in the "Disasters in Sofia" ("Катастрофи в София") group on Facebook. The post's author commented, "Let's go! Look what he's doing on the 2nd gear."

The Ministry of Interior received the new BMW patrol cars in early June. Among them are BMW 340i station wagons, boasting 382 horsepower. In total, the Ministry acquired 86 new cars, including VW Golf 2.0 turbos.

The BMW 340i station wagons are notably powerful, capable of reaching speeds of 250 km/h and accelerating to 100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds.

On June 4th, the Bulgarian traffic police received 86 new patrol cars, which are part of a larger shipment expected to total 420 vehicles by the year's end. These high-speed vehicles are intended to monitor traffic on the busiest sections of first-class roads and motorways.

The new patrol cars are equipped with POS terminals, allowing fines to be paid on the spot via electronic slips and criminal decrees. This enhancement aims to streamline the process of handling traffic violations and increase efficiency.

Additionally, four new blood drug testing machines have been introduced. These machines will ensure that blood test results for drugs are available within a week to 10 days, expediting the processing of drug-related offenses.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been 47 fewer road casualties compared to the same period last year, indicating an improvement in road safety.