Drivers in the Russian capital, Moscow, are being kept in check by the city's police, who are on an annual month-long clampdown on dirty drivers. Authorities are imposing fines of 50 roubles on offenders who are tardy in making a visit to the local car wash.
It is less that the price of driving over Dublin's Westlink toll bridge but unlike our own overstretched An Garda Síochána, Russian enforcement comes with a capital E. Those pedalling their filth on the city's streets are not only fined, but also stopped from entering the city until their wheels are up to scratch. So while we drive around without having even passed a driving test, our Russian colleagues are stopped from proceeding with their journey until they take a sponge and a hose to their cars.
But not in any old place, mind. Washing your car in an "undesignated area" will see you landed with a fine of up to 1,000 roubles, a not insignificant €29.50. Designated washing facilities include regular car washes and special areas around car parks. War veterens get their cars washed for free.
The fines are adding up, with a total of 3.2 million rubles (almost €100,000) collected last year from the owners of some 80,000 trucks and cars that were deemed to be too dirty. A total of 484 individuals who washed their vehicles in the wrong place were also fined. Police say the campaign is a safety measure and designed to make sure number plates are readable at a distance of 20 metres. Indeed, Russian roads are not all that safe. More than 30,000 died last year between January and November in more than 203,000 crashes.
"It helps to restore cleanliness standards after the winter," traffic police spokesman Vyacheslav Trubin told the Moscow Times newspaper.
Motorists say police are exploiting the public's meagre knowledge of the law. A survey for the Izvestiya newspaper found that 46 per cent believed a car was dirty if the number plate was illegible.23 per cent said a car was dirty if the words "wash me" were written on it, 22 per cent said it was dirty if the car's colour was not apparent, while 9 per cent believed a car was dirty if the driver was not visible.
