Tom Luxsox Coins

Rouble Russian

Is the standard of driving bad where you live ? Consider driving in Russia..it's well, different !

Driving in Russia is a lot worse than Europe and a lot better than China or India, despite its overall poor reputation for quality, consideration and observing the rules of the road, Russian driving is similar to any major city or capital, a generally mad, free for all with the emphasis on getting from A to B as quick as possible and before the car in front.

Having spoken to many Russian citizens on this subject there does seem to be a heavy influence on the road, from the male dominated society, with several women openly admitting that they drive enormous, expensive 4 x 4's ( often on the insistence of their husbands ), not because they like them, but because they know that if they drive a small, economical hatchback or saloon, they'll be forced off the road at every opportunity. Unfortunately, after having witnessed these situations many times myself, I understand perfectly.

The "slipping the clutch at the lights", harassing the pedestrians with a racing engine is very common, unnecessary, unpleasant and unwelcome, but very common nonetheless.

Away from Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the road networks are reasonably well developed, roads in the provincial towns are generally of poor quality, often damaged and repaired using short term measures. Pot holes, sometimes of staggering proportions, are common and for a country with severe weather extremes, a surprisingly poor road camber or drainage system results in flooding and spray in astounding quantities.

Stop signs are reasonably well observed, although pedestrian crossings are another matter. The sheer enormity of painting and re-painting the white road markings throughout Russia during a reasonably short period without snow or rain, means that for a large part of the year pedestrian crossings are either not marked or not visible, or both, however there are signs beside the road indicating a crossing point.

To cross the road in Russia you must walk slowly but confidently and defiantly into the road at a recognised crossing, cars will stop, but only for the minimum time required, as soon as you are out of the firing line the cars will continue. Stand on the roadside, patiently waiting for cars to stop for you, as happens in some European countries, and you'll stand there all day, the older Russian population are quite adept at walking blindly out in front of cars with their head down and eyes fixed ahead...miraculously there seem to be relatively few accidents. As with the West, there are signal controlled crossings as well, with a generous 80 second crossing time period.

Many cities and towns utilize a subway/underpass system to cross underneath major roads, peppered with boutiques, eateries, phone shops etc...

On the odd occasion there may be a traffic policeman controlling pedestrian crossings, listen and watch for his motion to you to cross, or risk a severe reprimand. Jay-walking ( sauntering across the road at a point other than a recognised crossing ) , though not actually illegal, is not a good idea, given the standard of driving prevalent across Russia.

In Russia you'll find just about every car imaginable, somewhere, from the basic home grown Lada, through the vast array of import vehicles including stretch Hummers, Lincolns and limousines to the Bentley showrooms not far from Red Square in Moscow, you name it and you can have it, if you can pay. Some models are only available in limited numbers in Asia.

Petrol in Russia is cheap by Western standards, understandably so given their access to the enormous oil and petro-chemical industries, and car washes are to be found on the outskirts of the cities and towns along with the petrol stations.

In Russia the cars drive on the right. To obtain a driving license you must be 18 years old *, in good health** and take a road driving test at a local centre ( pass or fail ) for which a fee is charged. You must take and pass a practical test involving certain common manoeuvres ( 5 mistakes allowed ), and also a multiple choice theory test ( 2 errors accepted )

Upon successfully passing these three tests you will receive your plastic EU style driving license with the categories of vehicles that you are permitted to drive listed. These are :

• A : Any type of motorbike
• A2 : Similar to European A limited, as A does not limit the specifications of motorbikes. Bikes with engine displacements lower than 50 cc and speeds lower than 50 km/h are considered mopeds, and do not require a license.
• B : Vehicle under 3.5 tons
• B1 : Tricycles and quadricycles
• C : Vehicle over 3.5 tons
• D : Bus ( more than 8 passenger seats )
• E : Non-motorised vehicle with special connection attachment to the rear of the A, B, C, D category vehicles.

* 16 for motorbikes, 20 for buses and minibuses.
** Medical mental assessment and substance abuse certificates required.

If you can't, don't want to or can't be bothered to take these three tests, then apparently it is still possible to buy your license the old fashioned way, with a contribution to the local police officers favourite charity.

As at 2010 Russia will adopt a zero tolerance drink drive policy, further tightening of existing regulations. Heavy drinking and related traffic accidents are seen as one of the main reasons why one in three Russian men dies before retirement age. The penalties of drink driving are severe, instant confiscation of your driving license, jail overnight if you are incoherent, a hefty fine, possibly a prison sentence and a 2 year driving ban...incentive if ever it were needed to stay stone cold sober.

Fines imposed for minor road offences vary enormously, talk to 10 different people and you'll get 10 different answers on this subject. Minor offences such as not having your documents 100% in order may attract a fine of only 300 Roubles while one woman that I interviewed complained of receiving a 12,000 Rouble fine for crossing the centre line for 15 metres. Reflecting upon the interviews, it does seem that an attractive young lady in an older car attracts a substantially lower fine than an older woman in an expensive car, for the same offence. Middle aged and young men in flashy or new cars come off worst not surprisingly. There is an official procedure for paying a motoring fine, and involves receiving all the documentation on the spot at the roadside, from the police officer,( Russian paperwork is incredible at the best of times, imagine standing waiting for an hour or more just for the papers ) taking the fine to a police station, queuing, waiting, queuing some more before making payment and getting a stamp on a receipt. Most people who choose this, the correct way, do so out of principle more than a desire to endure the paperwork.

Under Russian law, if there is accidental or deliberate contact with another vehicle, both drivers must stay at the scene until a traffic police unit has attended and taken statements from the parties involved.

In reality there are very few of these special units, sometimes only three cars, with two policemen in each car, to cover the entire region surrounding and including a city. Dozens of drivers have told me that in some cases this shortage of police resources may mean waiting up to 9 hours because of a simple prang with nobody injured. Four and five hour waits are common....regardless of, or if not made longer by the weather conditions at the time. Russian police in the provinces are rarely seen racing full pelt, lights blazing, and sirens blaring to an automobile accident as you would often see in the West.

Russian traffic police authorities are undermanned, suffer from under investment, poor equipment, long hours and in general, poorly paid staff. To understand this more you need to read about the problem of corruption in Russia

Russian police cars are standard, with fairly basic performance, necessitating a sedentary style of policing. The traffic police, working mostly in pairs can be seen most days at strategic points throughout a city, waving down vehicles with a white and black baton. The drivers documents will be checked, a cursory glance over the condition of the vehicle, a look in the boot and, a consideration of whether or not there might be a cause for donating to the traffic police Christmas fund ( needless to say, underpaid and overworked officers regularly look for ways to supplement their income, it happens in every country, the only variation is the method ).

If you're travelling to Russia as a tourist, stay on the pavements, cross the roads at designated crossing points preferably with other people, disobey the traffic police at your peril...oh, and enjoy your holiday !

About the Author

When I met my wife on the internet 7 years go I didn't follow the usual path of bringing her to my European country, I wanted to understand her background, her views and lifestyle...I moved to Siberia and still live here. The experiences need to be seen to be believed but you can read about them at www.rurev.com

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