Driving in Russia: rules and reality

By: Michael Shipley
Date: Tuesday, 28. November 2006

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After a mountain of rules to get a license, Russian roads require survival skills

"Hey, where'd that guy come from?!"
"He's not supposed to do that!"
"Oh my gosh, I almost hit that kid!"

These are but a few of the exclamations my Russian wife gave voice to as she drove through our small Siberian city of Chita for the first time. What had in her pedestrian youth appeared as peaceful little roads and by-ways, became behind the wheel of a car a nerve-wrenching gauntlet of seemingly blind pedestrians and careless drivers. Thus began her induction into the "anything goes" world of driving in Russia.

My wife's surprise at the general lawlessness of Russian roads was heightened by the fact that she'd only just mastered a mountain of theory in order to earn her driver's license. Along with a growing number of Russians who yearly join the motoring ranks, my wife had been required to memorize the answers to an amazing 800 questions dealing with every imaginable driving rule in the book. But out on the road she discovered that, in Russia, theory and practice are at best very distant cousins.

Consider, for example, the painted line down the center of the road; in Russia one only rarely encounters it. And without that outward symbol of restraint, drivers often pass freely across the center quite regardless of oncoming traffic, blind corners or other annoyances. Government cash shortages in part account for the problem. A bucket of reflective paint can cost more than the monthly salary of the person who applies it. At stoplights, drivers jockey with each other like NASCAR racers jostling for the pole position, each striving to be first out of the chute. Add to that a similar attitude on the part of pedestrians attempting to cross the street, and you can imagine the potentially deadly mix of conflicting intentions.

City of Chita in Eastern Russia, about 900 miles (1,400 km) north of Beijing

"Don't worry," I told my wife. "Soon you'll anticipate and react to all these factors automatically." Like a war veteran waxing nostalgic, I flashed back to memories of people stepping in front of my moving car as if crossing an open field rather than a busy city street. "But I'm so nervous and stressed," my wife complained. "Welcome to driving in Russia," I told her.

After more than four years behind the wheel in Russia-which included one year navigating the convoluted Moscow street maze-I greeted with more than a little anxiety my wife's new role behind the wheel. With a population of 350,000 in Chita, there are 65,000 personal cars. Traffic police recorded 430 accidents in 1999, with 470 injuries and 40 deaths. Only 10% of those accidents were linked to drunk drivers-admittedly fewer than one might expect. This represents a mere fraction of the 186,000 injuries and 30,000 highway deaths Russia suffers each year.

This is not to say that all drivers in Russia are undisciplined or dangerous. In fact, the vast majority attempt to preserve life and limb by obeying the rules of the road. But those law-abiding citizens must contend with others who doubtless consider "The Road Warrior" a driving instruction film rather than a futuristic fantasy.

The question begs to be answered: "Why the free-for-all on Russian roads?" In this writer's opinion, the answer is best summed up in two words: Limited enforcement. The Government Auto Inspection (GAI), the Russian equivalent to the Highway Patrol, attempts to regulate drivers from stationary positions. Faced with tight budgets and cars too slow to catch faster imported models, GAI park their cars roadside, halt passing motorists by waving a white wand, and proceed to inspect vehicle registration and other documents. This does little more than irritate drivers and net the occasional drunk. It does nothing, however, to stop the more serious problem of moving violations.

One GAI officer explained it this way: "Russian law requires us to find witnesses in order to issue a citation. With illegal passing, the only witnesses are the motorists themselves, all of whom are long gone moments after the violation has occurred." Others offer the rationale that it's too dangerous to chase every offending motorist through narrow city streets. "Better to let them get away with minor infractions than to needlessly endanger others," one source contended. "The GAI chase the serious offenders, and that's enough."

Thus, the murky reasons behind the mayhem became a bit clearer. No doubt Russia will one day improve driving habits and enforcement. But until that day, I have something to tell my wife as she leaves with car keys in hand-"Stay alert!"

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