I drove a car in Bulgaria exactly once -- from Sofia to Burgas. I survived, but it was a little scary. I got passed by a car on my right while I was in the far right lane. Yes, he passed me on the shoulder of the road doing 70 mph.

I did find out that Bulgarian drivers help one another. Before going through a village on the highway, oncoming cars would flash their lights incessantly to warn of a police car hiding up ahead. It was very helpful as the speed limit would go from 75 kph to 35 kph in a matter of meters.

Ironically, my good Bulgarian friend went to driver's training in the US and then a few years later in Bulgaria. She said the Bulgaria test was much stricter and harder (she had to get something like 96 out of 100 on the written to pass). The driving test was more difficult as well, she said. Obviously this stellar training doesn't translate into real-world driving.