What to do in case of a road accident in Bulgaria

What to do in the event of an accident

First of all, you need to establish whether anyone was injured in the accident. If there are fatalities or injuries, you must call 112 and report where the accident took place, what exactly happened and how many people were hurt. When calling, you must give your name and your telephone number. If your Bulgarian is not good enough, you can tell the operator so and, where possible, you will be connected to an operator who speaks your language.
You need to assess the condition of the injured and, if possible, give them first aid.

The scene of the accident should be marked with a warning triangle as quickly as possible. In town the sign is placed 30 metres from the scene of the accident, outside town — 100 metres.

If the accident involves a vehicle carrying dangerous goods, you should if possible move at least 60 metres away from the scene.
Now all that remains is to wait for the police or to draw up the report yourselves.
Drivers of rented cars are advised at this stage to contact the rental company for instructions. Many vehicle rental companies advise clients by telephone or even send representatives to the scene.

When you must wait for KAT officers

Traffic police officers always attend the scene if:

• there are fatalities and/or injuries;
• the accident has obstructed traffic;
• there is a suspicion that one of the road users is under the influence of alcohol or other substances, or does not hold a driving licence;
• the accident involves a vehicle carrying dangerous goods;
• the accident involves more than two vehicles;
• the accident has created a danger for other vehicles (for example, the road is covered in oil or spilled material);
• the accident involves a vehicle with non-Bulgarian number plates.

Thus, those who come to Bulgaria in their own cars from another country must always wait for the police, even if the accident caused no casualties or serious damage. Foreign owners of cars with Bulgarian registration may do without the police in minor cases.

In any case, you need to have the following documents ready:

• Driving licence;
• Vehicle documents;
• Third-party liability insurance policy.

What to do in the event of a minor accident?

If the accident is minor, the cars are registered in Bulgaria, everyone is sober, no one is injured and traffic is not obstructed, you can do without the police. In that case you need to draw up a ДКП — «двустранен констативен протокол», i.e. a bilateral accident report.
Forms for such a report should be kept in the car — as a rule, insurance agents issue them together with the policy. It does not matter which of the drivers provides the forms — what matters is that the report is filled in in two copies.
Detailed instructions on how to fill it in can be found on the insurance company’s website. In addition, instructions on how the report must be completed are printed on each copy.

Basic rules:

1. The report is filled in directly at the scene of the accident.
2. The parties to the accident must show each other their driving licences and third-party liability policies — the data from these documents are used to fill in the report.
3. All fields must be completed.
4. Any correction makes the report invalid — if a mistake has been made, a new report must be filled in.
5. Each party to the accident signs both copies of the report and keeps one of them.
   If the report is filled in incorrectly, the insurer may refuse to pay out. For this reason you need to be very careful when preparing the document.
   There is no need to notify the police of the accident. However, if you hold a casco policy, you must follow the insurance company’s instructions — in some cases the accident must be reported to the police, in others it must not.

How to get the money?

After the report has been filled in, the injured driver must go to the insurance company of the driver at fault and provide:

• The report;
• The vehicle documents;
• Driving licence;
• Documents on the expenses incurred in connection with the accident.

The period for submitting claims under third-party liability insurance is 5 years, but it is advisable to notify the insurers of the incident as early as possible.

The driver at fault, in turn, is obliged to report the accident to his insurance company within 7 days.
After contacting the insurance company, the injured party only has to wait for the payout. The subject of our article was unable to obtain anything, because the policy number of the driver at fault was written incorrectly on the report. This happened because Sergey left the form filling to the other party and did not check the details. Unfortunately, such a small thing was enough for the payout to be refused.

How to register a car in Bulgaria for the purpose of exporting it and subsequently selling it in another country?

Registering a car to a company: why and who needs it?

Registering a company in Bulgaria