And that's the flavor of Vladivostok: The spice of suddenly smoking tires and sound of crumpling plastic. But there are moments of humanity among the crashes, in between the skidding, the burning, the kicking. There are dash-cam videos with happy endings. At a city accident scene, you could see as many as twenty cars pulling over, drivers running out to the scene. And then there are the resolutions, a sort of "brotherhood of the road" moments—forgiveness seen only on long-distance, intercity highways, especially between truck drivers.
This comes from the recognition of the fact that on a mile stretch of uninhabited territory, help can only come from passing vehicles and not emergency services.
Most Russian long-distance routes East of the Ural Mountains are that way. It's common in the Russian winter for light passenger cars to swerve off the road.
Imagine a lone Ford Focus tipped-over in a pile of snow by the road. Imagine pulling over, rescuing the deserted traveler from hours of waiting for costly rescue services. The comradery between strangers, shoveling the snow and hailing a freight truck or tractor to pull the car out. The kudos. The cheers. The knowledge that you could be very well be next. And don't you forget it. Aside from the kindness of strangers, it's just you and that little gadget versus the hell that is the other people on the road.
Email us with the subject line "Syndication" if you would like to see your own story syndicated here on Jalopnik. The A. By Marina Galperina.
US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Alex Davies. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Loading Something is loading. Email address. Deal icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. YouTube content policing means some of the most disturbing videos get pulled from U.
But then there are times like today, when dash cams catch a once-in-a-lifetime meteor falling from the sky, from every possible angle — something that couldn't have happened just a few years ago.
And guess what, that policeman did not accept cash payment and insisted on issuing me an official fine. But outside of Moscow the situation has not changed yet.
So, having a dash cam in your car is a good idea if you drive in Russia. And after the fall of great Chelyabinsk meteorite, captured on thousands of dash cams — video registrators dash cams have become more than functional gadgets.
Now they are cool accessories and they offer insights not only to the craziness of Russian drivers, but also to stamina of Russians! Watch the video from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart!
And on a serious note — please be very careful when driving in Russia! I have to disagree. I think your experience is the exeption which proves the rule. Thanks a lot Anna! I think you are right. Easy money is very lucrative for corrupted people.
However, having witnessed even one exception made me hope that things may improve in future. Slava, I personally am against bribes! But corruption happens when there are gaps in the system.
0コメント