Well, my hat is off to anyone for bravery to any Westerner driving in Russia or Ukraine.
The only sane person who I know can get away with it is a good friend who lives in the UK and part time in the Baltic's. His business is cars and so he drives enough to get away with it.
Those who know me well would point out that I drive, but that is only at the insistence of my wife. Given her number of fenderbenders, she just wants to arrive somewhere without incident and the best way to accomplish that is with her husband at the wheel. Personally I feel much safer on public transportation in Russia because of issues surrounding how being "at fault" and fiscal responsibility are so commonly reached.
Please don't misunderstand the tone of this post, I don't want to be a killjoy. But I would be less than forthright if I withheld information so that you can make your own decision--and understand all sides of the issues better. It's good to be informed and hopefully I can help do that for you. I'll try:
The quickest way to be at fault in a Russian accident is to be a Westerner, especially an American or Brit. Might as well get out the checkbook immediately after being t-boned by the guy who ran the red light because by the time the милиция are finished, the Westerner is going to pay for damages and perhaps even go to jail depending on how badly the other guy hit you.
There's even a Russian joke about it! 4 drivers are at an intersection. They crash and cause an international incident. The 4 drivers were as follows: a Russian, a Ukrainian, a Georgian and an Uzbek. Who was at fault: The
American .
Thats funny sitting here on a forum. But it's not so funny when the crash has happened, the blue lights are flashing and the officer has a big smile on his face cause he's about nail you to the wall because you didn't move quickly enough to avoid the drunk Russian driver who swerved into your lane and took away the right half of your rental car. Being at fault, the rental car company isn't going to be happy either. The insurance laws are so one sided too that it's a big reason why so few Western car rental companies are in Russia. Likely, you just purchased a car. With one side missing.
It became law in January 2004 to have insurance on Russian roads but millions of drivers don't bother and the easiest way for the police to sort it out is find out which driver has insurance, then write him up as at fault. That saves them hours of work and lots of hassle.
And if the police don't show up, likely outside the big cities, you get on a cell phone and call for what the Russians call "support." Whoever shows up with the most friends as "support" beats the crap out of the driver who didn't have as many friends. Loser pays damages.
Bribes usually don't work well because of "influence." You could pay a bribe only to have an influential friend of the other driver call the district commander and soon there is a knock on your door as it turns out you were at fault after all. Oh, about that bribe, "what money? You didn't give me any money."
Watch this video to see what is meant by the phrase
when an accident happens!
"There are two problems in Russia," the old saying has it, "roads and fools".
