European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 24, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Mayhem on soviet highways soft turn Buiu Driver polishes ear Oil a Highway near Moscow a common Jont a vehicles emerge from Winter Tutor at. By Charles Mitchell United press International t he russian and the automobile is a Lov Oafland gone sour Spring is when Iho madness becomes Iho past 214,900 people have Click in Load accidents and Anothy i t 3 Milhon acid injured Over the name live years ending in 1986. The Umed slalom which has 10 limes Mote vehicles on the Roar a Llord Only 20,000 Moie a calms. Tho soviet Union has Only it i million passenger and to Tuple on Iho roads about 1 Nillon of which arc Damoci fled every year in Accident come Mixi to 17g million vehicles in Chr United Santos drunks arc Icson Siulc Lor 20 percent of All soviet Road acid Only. But Drivers with less than two boats experience Are much worse they Are responsible for 50 pc cell of All motor acid Only Tho number Al annual soviet Road deaths is increasing with Iho number of cars opposite to Iho u s to ind. All these slash pics support the opinion o westerners living in Moscow soviet Drivers ate among lha worst in the would in Spring s annual rile Lens of thousands of eager Drivers Aro now peeling of i their cat s Winter Canvas cocoon to Waken their vehicles irom Winter hibernation. Because of icy Winter conditions a shortage of spare parts and Enow tiros plus the lamed Lack of locals Winter driving skills most private car owners take he tires Oil their cars put it up on blocks and wrap in in Canvas for the duration. On inc Highway russian Man and machine seem locked in modal Battle with Man wan log to go one Way and machine another. Thus Lane makers Are Iii Lovall. Indicators meaningless and hand signals Lille Mic than conversational Gelli Cullion Between Driver and passenger few soviet vehicles arc equipped with Side View minors turn indicators Are not used because of the weird belie that they dram life irom he Battery Moscow Drivers a Enol permitted to use Hondli girls Al night parking lights Sulpico on Iho theory that headlights wind oncoming Tarflie. With the City s lighting subdued by state ordered Power cuts is Rule makes for some rather lightening after dark on counties. Headlights however must be switched on Day or night when travelling beneath on underpass. The reason is one question a Driver quickly stops asking when Taccad with Moscow traffic regulations. Soviet Drivers lace o spot Fine of three rubles $4.80 simply Lor driving a dirty car. That is a pure judgment Call by the Ever present militia who sometimes find the regulation a useful source of additional private income. But motorists and their Nemisis. Die Eagle eyed militia on virtually every Moscow Street Corner tight a continual Bailie. Drivers break As Many Laws As possible and the militia Stop and spot fins As Many motorists As possible guilt or innocence is mostly irrelevant. A Mavorite summer Limo militia iric is to allow Trees and shrubbery to cover Stop signs or. Red lights then they leap Horn the Bush and punch your License Wilh a paper puncher three punches in a year and your License is suspended. Often Lor a Lew rubles on the Side. A punch can be avoided. Another Bham is to Creel a temporary Speed Lone without reason then Sil Back and Tine the surprised speeders. Road signs Are of dubious value. They Are usually too Small to be of any use or so complicated As to be incomprehensible perhaps Tho Moat legendary is above Tho ring Road near Tho Gorky so ret intersection in looks like a diagram of a trick american Loo Ball play squiggles and arrows pointing every which Way ii is barely visible irom inc Road. A recent to Vernal Alfairan ministry Highway safety report estimated thai Road accidents could be Cut by up id 15 percent just by Tho Correct placement of existing Road signs. Summer Means that once manageable Moscow streets Are nearly choked with Frallic. The number of Road accidents teams 50 percent in summer months because of 1he increased rattle volume. Official statistics say August is the worst month by Lar. And beware Friday nights. One third of the 660 people killed or badly injured on Moscow roads last August had their accidents Between a p m. And 6pm. On Friday when City dwellers Hood to Iho county for the weekend. Private car owners usually wait up to six years and spend the equivalent of live years salary to join Tho motoring madness a new car is olten expected to last a lifetime. Besides the scramble for spare parts end tires Gas Olma Al Hie regulated slate Price Olsi 01 be gallon is not easy to find Moscow Lias Only 19 tilling stations for upwards of 1 million vehicles. There Are Only 22 Tow trucks in the entire City stale run Auto repair censers Aro notorious Lor poor service and Lack of spare parts Many motorists contend such censers Lake out of a car under repair More parts than Are put in. There is a thriving Black Market for spare parts and lires. Conventional Wisdom says that owning a car brings Joy to a soviet Only twice the Day he buys it and the Day he finally Sells it status Symbol for a limited budget the fake car phone by Katherine Bishop new York times h Eaven knows it s hard to keep up on your last trip to Paris you dropped int Chichon Koa for a custom made pigskin briefcase Only to arrive Back at work an find some 26-year-old Wilh a new $2,500 Alligator Model he snapped up in san Francisco while his Ferrari was being serviced. Bui help has arrived. In los Allos an upper Middle class Hamlet about 40 Miles South of san Francisco they understand these sorts of pressures and someone has taken he first Small step to relieve them. A tiny company Here called Faux systems has created the cellular phoney an inexpensive replica car phone that looks just like the real thing the company Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday i
