Thread: Russian people are courteous

Originally Posted by Hanna

REALLY sweet! But it's BAD that this street crossing did not have pedestrian lights, like a green man.
It was seriously scary in Kiev (same situation as Moscow, I guess) that most crossings did not have a green man. This clip shows that Russia needs more pedestrian crossings, and Ukraine too!

My experience in the big cities over there is that the cars aren't going to stop for you whether there's a crosswalk or not, and it doesn't really make a difference whether there's a green man. If you want the cars to stop you have to step out in front of them and force them to stop (or hit you). If you try to stand there at the curb and wait for them to yield to you, you'll be waiting for a very long time.

Originally Posted by zxc

My experience in the big cities over there is that the cars aren't going to stop for you whether there's a crosswalk or not

In Moscow in the early 1990s, I was terrified by seeing people drive with their headlights off at night -- they wanted to "economize on headlights," because of the difficulty in buying replacement lamps!!!!

Hopefully, this was a result of Soviet shortages, and this habit has disappeared in post-Soviet times.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

In Moscow in the early 1990s, I was terrified by seeing people drive with their headlights off at night -- they wanted to "economize on headlights," because of the difficulty in buying replacement lamps!!!!

Hopefully, this was a result of Soviet shortages, and this habit has disappeared in post-Soviet times.

The authorities put an end to it, and now everybody must drive with their headlights on even at daytime

Originally Posted by xdns

The authorities put an end to it, and now everybody must drive with their headlights on even at daytime

This rule exists in Sweden too. There is a modification made to all cars on sale in Sweden which means that the headlights are turned on when you start the engine.

People from other countries just laugh at this...I have heard that the rule is needed because it might be dangerous in the dark winter days, if somebody forgets to turn the light on.... And apparently snow can sometimes reduce the noise that cars cause, but with the headlights on it is impossible not to notice the car.
I'd guess that the other Scandinavian countries have the same rule, but I don't know for sure... Probably the same reason why Russia has this rule... Seems to me that it wouldn't be needed in the South of Russia though! Like Northern Caucasus and the Black Sea area.....

Well, I for one thought it was outright SCARY to cross the street in Kiev when I was there last year.
It was really hard to find a safe place. I was pleased when I arrived in Belarus and realised they had put up lots of pedestrian crosses everywhere, with a green man which looked like the latest EU standard. The drivers there were a lot more courteous.

Even though I thought that Ukrainians were a bit more warm and friendly (in general... obviously there are exceptions) than Belarussians, the Belarussians were better and more considerate drivers, IMHO!

I wonder how Russian drivers compare with Ukrainians and Belarussians?
I am guessing that Russians are a bit more aggressive drivers (?) Although the man in the clip was a real gentleman!