MPs on parliament's internal security and public order committee have backed changes to the Road Traffic Act at first reading. Neli Andreeva of Progressive Bulgaria put forward the bill together with a group of MPs.

The changes fix practical problems that have built up over the years, said Emil Denkov of Progressive Bulgaria. The aim is safer roads, fewer contradictions between rules, the same checks everywhere and better use of public money, he said.

The first change affects heavy trucks on motorways and expressways with two lanes each way. Trucks over 12 tonnes will have to stay in the right-hand lane and won't be allowed into the left lane even to overtake, Denkov explained.

Ambulance crews will be allowed to work without a seatbelt, but only while examining, treating or helping a patient, he added. Police officers get the same exemption, again only while carrying out a specific duty.

There's also a change to how foreign driving licences are swapped for Bulgarian ones. In future, only the categories a driver actually took a test for will be recognised, Denkov said.

The evidential breath-test device is being dropped as a way to check for alcohol. Medical examination and blood tests will remain.

The last set of changes covers cars' technical condition. Under the proposal, a car would have to be pulled off the road straight away if it has different-sized tyres on one axle, a badly cut tyre, or other similar faults.

The interior ministry backs the changes in principle, said Bilyana Stoykova, chief legal adviser in the ministry's law-making department.

The committee rejected seven other bills proposing changes to the same law. Two came from Yordan Ivanov of Democratic Bulgaria and a group of MPs, and another two from Bozhidar Bozhanov, also of Democratic Bulgaria, and a group of MPs. One bill each was put forward by Maria Dimitrova of GERB-SDS, Ivo Mihaylov of We Continue the Change, and Halil Letifov of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, each with a group of MPs.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, deputy leader of the Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group, said all their proposals aimed to cut red tape for drivers. Scrapping stickers, dropping the engine number from the registration certificate, online checks, more transparency — that's how he summed up his group's ideas.

Hristo Terziyski of GERB-SDS spoke about his own group's bill. He said anyone riding a personal electric vehicle should hold at least a category AM driving licence. That way, riders would go through training, get properly qualified and know the traffic rules, he said.