existRussiadriveIt can be a good choice. For adventurous people, driving can not only visit the Russian countryside, but also travel around the world's largest country at your own pace. However, driving conditions in many parts of Russia are significantly different from those in Western countries.
learn
If you are not used to the local road conditions and driving culture, and do not understandRussian, Then car travel alone can be challenging and even dangerous. Road signs may be poor (if there are signs) and poorly maintained, especially outside of towns. Road numbering signs are not clear, and direction signs are usually only in Russian (in western Russia, sometimes Latin characters are also used).
highway
The most important highway in Russia is the federal highway. These include the main roads (marked "М") from Moscow, as well as roads in the European or Asian international road network. In addition, there are many roads between the administrative centers (marked with the Cyrillic letter "Р", which means "R" in English) and other important passages (marked with "А"). These constitute the main skeleton of the Russian road network. Not only are they best maintained, but some sections are newly paved roads. However, especially in eastern Russia, some roads are still gravel roads or mixed gravel sections (such asKolyma Highway）。Siberian HighwayThe road was completely paved in 2015.
Rural roads usually consist of two lanes with no obstacles between them; however, in large cities, many roads have more than two lanes, such asMoscowThere are 10 ring roads (Московская кольцевая автомобильная дорога, referred to as МКАД).
Prepare
If you want to drive to Russia by yourself, you should bring the following items and information:
document
- driving license
- International driving license is not compulsory, but strongly recommended
- Vehicle registration documents, if you are not marked as the owner of the car, you also need to provide a letter of authorization
- "Green Card" Vehicle Insurance Certificate
- Two customs declaration forms-usable at the border, but to save time, you can also print and fill in in advance
- Emergency call
- existwinter, If your car is equipped with studded tires, a red triangleшThe warning label with the words warns the driver who is driving behind your car that if you are slipping on the road, you can stop more quickly. Like this kind of sticker, you can buy this sticker at some Finnish gas stations near the border.
- According to reports, there is also a separate sticker to indicate the nationality of your vehicle (fromEuropean UnionThe blue mark on the left side of the license plate of countries and most other European countries is not enough)
Equipped
- Fire extinguisher
- First aid kit
- Warning triangle
May be useful
- Spare tires and tools for replacing flat tires. If your wheel is unfortunately damaged, it is usually difficult to find a local shop where you can replace the wheel with a new one. Generally, most local tire shops usually focus on repairs.
- Tow rope
- Fuel tank
- tool
- Spare car key
- shovel
- Jumper cable
- Spare parts for long distance travel
As with all long-term driving trips, before traveling, the car should be maintained to make sure it is in good condition. In addition, please exclude things that are unnecessary and unnecessary during the journey.
Application
In addition, seeRussia#arrivalVisa procedures.
It is recommended that you need to have an international driver’s license; this is a necessary document for a regular driver’s license and can usually be obtained from a public car agency in your country/region.
car insurance
You must provide a "green card", which is an important document for you to obtain vehicle insurance from an insurance company. In the past, you had to purchase a separate insurance for your car from a Russian insurance company at the border.
In the event of an accident, you must notify the personnel of the General Administration of Traffic Safety (Russian: Государственная инспекция безопасности дорожного движения, abbreviation: ГИБДД, originally ГААИ) and obtain a copy of the inspection report. When dealing with you or the insurance company of the other party, the inspection report is necessary (that is, if you are the cause of a traffic accident or you are the victim, the inspection report is very important).
Customs declaration
At the border, you need to fill in twoCustoms declaration(Таможенная декларация). One customs declaration form will be taken by the customs officer; the other will be stamped and returned to you. When you leave Russia, the stamped customs declaration form will be handed over to the border station. When the car enters the local area, you also need to obtain a temporary vehicle import permit, or you can obtain it first when you set off. Never lose these files!
Traffic rules
The speed limit is 60 kilometers per hour in built-up areas, 90 kilometers per hour on expressways, and 110 kilometers per hour on access control roads. On highways, although road conditions do not always allow high-speed driving, it is not uncommon for cars to travel at speeds of 120 kilometers per hour. It is possible for ordinary cars to drive on unpaved roads, but it is more appropriate to drive with four-wheel drive.
Traffic behavior in Russia is unpredictable, and car accidents are often very high. However, some Russian drivers will abide by the traffic rules and consider other drivers and other traffic conditions, but these are only a small number of people. What can be known is that it is not uncommon for locals to encounter speeding, dangerous overtaking and driving in extremely poor conditions, and even high-speed driving in urban areas. In addition, highway traffic in some urban areas is very busy. Headlights are usually only used in the dark; in the worst case, although the law requires drivers to turn on their headlights even during the day, many Russian drivers do not use their headlights during the day. The number of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants is 18.9; it is twice that of the United States, four times that of Germany and France, and comparable to China and some Middle Eastern and Latin American countries.
In other words, if you have your own talents and use common sense, you may be fine. Especially in neighboring countries, it is not uncommon to drive into Russia without accidents. Of course, it is not uncommon for Russians to walk around on the road.
Highway driving
Be cautious when driving on highways, and pay more attention to traffic safety. Due to the large temperature difference and traffic congestion in many places throughout the year, coupled with the limited funds of local governments, there are many cracks and potholes on the roads, which are common even on major highways, so you must drive more when driving between cities. Pay attention to road conditions.
On the road, when you find that someone wants to overtake you, move the car to the right side of the road, slow down, and turn on the right light once to give way to the car that wants to overtake you. Due to the wide highways, oncoming overtaking is not uncommon on two-lane highways. In addition, drivers usually cross another lane to dodge a section of road with cracks and potholes, which is why you may see oncoming cars driving into the lane you are driving without any obvious reason; In situations like this, you must be more careful and aware. Another danger is the logging truck that transports the whole tree (the consignment truck is not cut into wood like the Nordic countries), the truck will take up the entire road.
Some corners may slope toward the outer edge, so if you driveSlippery roadAt times, you may need to cross another lane to pass the inner curve. Some roads may not have enough facilities for maintenance, but in winter, some roads are usually polished to reduce the possibility of road slippage.
If you need to ask for directions and there are few vehicles on the road, you can flash the lights in front of oncoming cars, and then slow down in the middle of the road; usually oncoming cars will stop. If an oncoming car flashes its headlights at you but does not slow down, it is usually telling you that the traffic police have set up a speedometer or checkpoint in your driving direction; most local traffic police will do this at the entrance to the town . If you are stopped by traffic police, unless you drive too fast or commit other traffic violations, they will usually only ask you to show your driver's license and vehicle registration certificate for inspection.
There are also many people driving under the influence in Russia, so be careful; we don’t recommend that you drink and drive because there may be traffic accidents.
Not all highways in Russia are free: on some highways, there will be a toll station, so travelers may have to pay for each toll20 to 60 руб(You can pay by credit card).
City driving
Most local drivers are accustomed to this, that is, some roads in the city are not marked with lane lines, but they will maintain the driving distance, as if there are already marked lane lines.
However, in some turnstiles in Russia, they do not always obey the traffic rules, so you should turn on the turn signal to show that you are leaving the turnstile (just like driving in Europe).
Please follow the traffic signal instructions. Usually traffic lights change very quickly, and when the light is about to be green, cars in the other direction will move immediately, regardless of whether there are other cars at the intersection.
Even with oncoming cars, pedestrians often boldly walk across the zebra crossing. On the other hand, cars do not respect pedestrians as you might think. If you stop and let pedestrians cross before crossing the road, don’t be surprised to see cars passing by in another lane. Local drivers cross the road. It didn't even slow down.
authorities
Most federal highways (marked M-1, M-2, etc.) are monitored by automated systems, but the traffic police will patrol the secondary roads, and the official unit is called the General Administration of Traffic Safety (ГИБДД). The General Traffic Safety Administration roadblocks are located within the boundaries of each Federal District (approximately every 200 kilometers). It is very useful to have a radar speed recorder and a driving recorder on the car; in all the problem cases of the General Administration of Traffic Safety, the image of the recorder is your best source of defense, because the Russian court accepts the driving recorder as evidence.
If you are in a car accident as a driver, unfortunately, the main rule is not to move the car or leave the scene of the accident until the Federal Automobile Inspectorate has drawn the accident slip and signed it to you. Any violation of this rule will cause you to lose 15 days of free time. All other questions should be contacted directly with your insurance company.
Bribery by traffic police is not as common as it used to be, but according to local reports, bribery still exists and is more common when you drive east. You may also encounter fake police asking you for bribes.
There are three types of police in Russia: traffic police, patrol police and security police (Вневедомственная охрана). Only the traffic police have the right to issue a traffic ticket to you. You can distinguish General Traffic Safety Administration cars from ordinary cars by observing the light bar. The vehicles of the General Administration of Traffic Safety have red and blue light bars, and the rest of the police and emergency services usually use blue. The hood and trunk of the traffic police vehicle are also marked with "ДПС", which stands for "Дорожно-патрульная служба" (traffic police).
Fuel oil
Similar to the United States, the price of gasoline and diesel fuel is about 0.60 Euro per liter, which is much lower than the overall price in Europe.
When it is far away in the countryside, it is difficult to find unleaded gasoline, where the quality may be poor. Therefore, try to use only branded gas stations. Diesel can be found everywhere, but it can also be of poor quality, which can clog the fuel filter.
parking
When parking, please do not place valuables in a visible place. When parking overnight, it is best to use a guarded parking lot to ensure safety. You can usually find these in restaurants or nearby restaurants. Another option is to ask the locals if they can park their car in their yard overnight.
There are also formal camping areas along the highway, and wild camping is allowed in almost all places. If you are camping near a settlement, you should politely ask the locals if they can camp there. In some places, there are no laws prohibiting bonfires, but of course you should understand the common sense of bonfires. If the local area is in a dry area, don't do this.
You should park your car in a parking space as much as possible, because if you drive into a non-parking space, when you leave the car later, someone may fake a car accident or scratch and try to make unexpected money from you. This is the so-called "автоподстава". For this reason, it is recommended that you use a driving recorder to prove your innocence. Usually at this point, it is safer to drive the car into the parking space.
Traffic signs on the road
The road signs in Russia are almost the same as the road signs in Europe. There are 8 types of road signs, namely: warning signs, priority signs, prohibition signs, control signs, special control signs, message signs and service signs, and additional information signs (referred to as signs for short).
warning signIt is a triangle to warn the driver of danger ahead. The most common warning sign you will see is "Deer or moose may be at an intersection ahead", composed of a triangular deer. Other common signs are signs that warn you of dangerous sharp turns or curves.
Priority signThere are different shapes. These signs are set at intersections with signal lights, and these intersections will have "amber flashing lights" to display at night. You will see that the most common priority sign is "give way". The "give way" priority sign is a sign composed of a red border and a blank inverted triangle, similar to a warning sign, but only a red border and a blank inverted triangle are displayed. . Another common sign you may find is the "Priority Road" sign. The "Priority Road" is a slightly rotated square with a yellow and thick white border in the middle. This sign means that the road you are on has priority and should give way to drivers on the road you pass. Another common sign is the "stop" sign. To use it when the visibility of the intersection is strictly restricted, you must stop completely and observe in both directions; the "stop" sign is also set at the level crossing, in this case, You must stop and observe in both directions, and make sure that no train is approaching. You can stop by writing STOP on the road, if not, you may have to be in front of the sign.
Do not confuse the STOP symbol with the white rectangular "stop line sign". The "stop line sign" is not a priority sign, but is marked on the stop line.
Prohibition signWith a red border, the most common one is the "No Entry Sign"; the "No Entry Sign" is composed of a red circle with a white font in the middle. "No entry signs" will be set at the end or entrance of one-way roads to indicate that vehicles are prohibited from entering. The other is the "Forbidden Vehicles" sign. The "Forbidden Vehicles" consists of a car with a red border and a white inner circle. Vehicles are prohibited from entering in all directions, and not only forbidden in one direction. Usually, signs like these "no entry signs" and "no vehicles" are mostly set up in pedestrian areas, but these "no entry signs" can be entered by bicycle. The sign will also be set up at the entrance of the parking lot for the use of staff only; in this case, there will be a sign below indicating which type of car can enter. This sign does not apply to public transportation and vehicles that contain category II or category I "disabled persons".
Regulatory signsIs blue. One of them is the minimum speed limit. The control sign is a blue circle with a white number in the middle. This is the minimum speed limit; you must not fall below this number, otherwise it will violate the law. The control sign can also be an arrow sign containing a one-way street; you should not violate the arrow direction of the control sign at a fork.
Special control signsUsually blue, while highway signs are green. "Start of built-up area" is a special control sign, which is composed of a blue (or highway green) rectangle and a white Russian place name inside; it means that you are about to go to a town or city. It is recommended to slow down to every 90 kilometers per hour. Once the “built-up area” sign is found, it has basically reached the township and city. The sign is usually composed of a white rectangle and black Russian place names inside, or another kind of building group with a white rectangle and black inside. Observe the sign and slow down to 60 kilometers per hour to avoid receiving a fine for speeding. There is also a special control sign called "Pedestrian Lane", which is a blue square with a white triangle in the middle, and a zebra crossing, and there is a pattern of pedestrians; this sign may be set when there are signal lights or no traffic lights. On the sidewalk with signal lights; even on the sidewalk without signs, pedestrians have the right of way.
5.25 "Start of built-up area" entrance sign
5.26 "Start of built-up area" exit sign
5.23.1 "Built-up area" entrance sign
5.24.1 Exit signs for "built-up area"
5.23.2 "Built-up area" entrance sign
5.24.2 Exit signs for "built-up area"
Message signThe blue background is more, but the green background is more on the highway. Some of these signs will show numbers, which tell you how far you are from a place.
Service markIt is a long blue rectangle with a white top. One of these signs is the "Traffic Police Station" sign, which is composed of a long blue rectangle with a white top, and the white top with the letters "ДПС" in the middle; this sign tells you that there is a traffic police station ahead. In addition, you may also find a sign with "ПОЛИЦИЯ" in the middle of the white top; this sign tells you that there is a police station ahead. And if there are directions and numbers in the long blue rectangle, it represents the direction and distance.