About Russia » Driving in Russia
Driving in Russia
To drive in Russia you will need an International Drivers License, car insurance, your passport, your visa and a motorcycle with all documents to prove you ownership. There are only a few general rules concerning traffic in the entire region of Russia. It is impossible to describe all the details, but the following illustrates a few general road signs and their respective meanings. You’ll see that these signs are quite similar to the signs in you home country and the rest of the world. Basically the laws are also the same (one of the exceptions is a rotary traffic. A person on a circle should pass a person who is entering it (vise versa in Europe), if only there is no sign “Main road”).
You shouldn’t drive under the influence of alcohol, you couldn’t drink at all, even glass of wine or beer... You should be careful about parking - Russia does not have many paid parking structures, however, there some places where you cannot leave you vehicle. Those places are not always so obvious, so take some time to check if you really are allowed to park. Do not exceed speed limits; do not go through red lights and give pedestrians the right of way always. It’s better not to drive in the middle of two separate lanes or on the median strip - this is very risky! Basically we recommend using common sense and follow the same general rules that you are used to in your home country.
Speed limits: up to 60 km/h in cities towns and villages, 90 km/h on the open road (out of towns) and 110 on highways, but sometimes our traffic police like to put some sign with speed limitation. If suddenly you meet sign 20 km/h restriction, know, there is a traffic police ahead checking your speed!
Russian drivers do not obey the rules so be careful and don’t expect them to be rational. They may cut you off, make short stops, don’t show turn signals etc. If you plan not to obey the rules of the road (like the Russians) you very likely will have the nice opportunity to become acquainted with the traffic police. These guys are sometimes out to collect bribes instead of fines. If you are pulled over, remain calm, show them your license, liability insurance and motorcycle documents, pretend that you do not speak Russian (usually with foreign drivers they are friendly and leave away, as according to the low, they have to read your rights on your language). Usually, when policemen check speed ahead people coming towards flashing you. But if you break the rule too roughly and if the policeman tries to make you to pay a bribe by threatening to take away your license, you can either pay them a bribe or have your license taken away. They will then give you a temporary license and a court date. But if you don’t get you license back you couldn’t drive in Russia without it, the first policeman who stop you will provide you with a lot of trouble If policeman offer you to solve the problem on a spot, be sure he asks you for bribe (sometime it’s better to give it to him) as all fines you should pay in some bank. In Russia, you could always bargain with policeman for amount of it (accept if you are under alcohol).
In Russia you could see that motorcyclists “surfing” or ride between traffic lines, it’s forbidden, but usually policemen don’t fine them. The main danger of riding this way (especially in a traffic jam) is to be damaged by some car! This way of riding is on your own risk! Russian car drivers don’t get used to motorcycles on the road, they just don’t notice them. So, you need to have good reaction skills to deal with Russian drivers on the road.