THANK GOD FOR RUSSIAN DASHCAMS

15 comments

Posted on 21st February 2013 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues

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15 Comments

  1. AWD says:

    Drinking Vodka and being an idiot apparently don’t go together.

    Thank God for Russian women….

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    21st February 2013 at 4:18 pm

  2. SSS says:

    What’s up with Russia and dashcams? Is this some sort of requirement for vehicles nowadays or is it just a cultural thing to put a dashcam in your car? I’m too lazy to Google the answer.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1

    21st February 2013 at 5:19 pm

  3. Zarathustra says:

    For you, SSS

    “The conditions of Russian roads are perilous, with an insane gridlock in the city and gigantic ditches, endless swamps and severe wintry emptiness of the backroads and highways. Then there are large, lawless areas you don’t just ride into, the police with a penchant for extortion and deeply frustrated drivers who want to smash your face.

    Psychopaths are abundant on Russian roads. You best not cut anyone off or undertake some other type of maneuver that might inconvenience the 200-pound, six-foot-five brawling children you see on YouTube hopping out of their SUVs with their dukes up. They will go ballistic in a snap, drive in front of you, brake suddenly, block you off, jump out and run towards your vehicle. Next thing you start getting punches in your face because your didn’t roll up your windows, or getting pulled out of the car and beaten because you didn’t lock the doors.

    These fights happen all the time and you can’t really press charges. Point to your broken nose or smashed windows all you want. The Russian courts don’t like verbal claims. They do, however, like to send people to jail for battery and property destruction if there’s definite video proof. That is why there’s a new, growing crop of dash-cam videos featuring would-be face-beaters backing away to the shouts of “You’re on camera, fucker! I’m calling the cops!”

    Dash-cam footage is the only real way to substantiate your claims in the court of law. Forget witnesses. Hit and runs are very common and insurance companies notoriously specialize in denying claims. Two-way insurance coverage is very expensive and almost completely unavailable for vehicles over ten years old–the drivers can only get basic liability. Get into a minor or major accident and expect the other party to lie to the police or better yet, flee after rear-ending you. Since your insurance won’t pay unless the offender is found and sued, you’ll see dash-cam videos of post hit and run pursuits for plate numbers.

    And sometimes drivers back up or bump their pre-dented car into yours. It used to be a mob thing, with the accident-staging specialists working in groups. After the “accident,” the offending driver–often an elderly lady–is confronted by a crowd of “witnesses,” psychologically pressured and intimidated to pay up cash on the spot. Since the Age of the Dash-cam, hustle has withered from a flourishing enterprise to a dying trade, mainly thriving in the provinces where dash-cams are less prevalent.

    And then, sometimes, someone will jump under your car at a crossing, laying on the asphalt, simulating a badly hurt pedestrian waiting for that cop conveniently parked nearby. This dramatic extortion scheme was common, until the Age of the Dash-cam. Oh, and there are such juicy, triumphant tales about of would-be extortion victims turning the scheme around and telling the cast members to pay them money or they’re going to jail for this little performance! Don’t try it.

    While those lucky enough to traverse the Russian roads with an American or other Western passport are hassled less, the Russian Highway Patrol is notorious throughout their land for brutality, corruption, extortion and making an income on bribes. Dash-cams won’t protect you from being extorted for cash, because your ass shouldn’t have been speeding. It will however keep you safer from drunks in uniform, false accusations and unreasonable bribe hikes.

    The other side of the Russian Wild Wild West is the sloppy online content policy. In the US, we can’t really watch anything slightly more serious than a subway fight or one car rear-ending another, as diligent censors quickly nab any videos with bad injuries, too much blood or other overly violent content.

    Russian websites go for the uncut, the horrible accidents–trucks flipping over, people being smashed into pieces and sedans flying up in the air and exploding. Given that television programing is mostly vacuous and heavily censored, dash-cam videos are very popular in Russia. It’s uncensored–drama, comedy, tragedy, horror, thriller and educational genres fused into one super-genre of “dash-cam.” Who needs Klitschko when you can watch to tough guys box in the street?

    It’s not all for kicks and voyeurism. The Ru CHP LiveJournal community is where all the major crashes, fights and deaths are aggregated. These are followed by a barrage of troll comment threads. Vicious stuff. Sometimes seeing a BMW and its driver pulverized by an oncoming truck while the Internet makes jokes is good driver’s ed. Additionally, before YouTube diligently deletes most of the road rage videos–lest the sensitive Americans be traumatized by seeing people screaming “I will kill you bitch” and pummeling each other in the head with steel pipes, crowbars and car wrenches. Ru CHP also backs these up on a Latvian server.”

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    21st February 2013 at 6:16 pm

  4. ThePessimisticChemist says:

    Go home Russia, you’re drunk.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

    21st February 2013 at 6:22 pm

  5. SSS says:

    Thanks, Zara. Very informative. I knew someone would rescue me from my laziness.

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    21st February 2013 at 6:49 pm

  6. SSS says:

    “Go home Russia, you’re drunk.”
    —-TPC

    It’s true that Russia has a huge problem with alcoholism. I’ve only been to Russia once, in 1979.

    On the way from the airport to our hotel in Moscow, we saw several obviously inebriated individuals, all male, walking alongside the road, weaving to and fro. One guy was so drunk, he had unzipped his pants and was peeing, in full view of all the bus passengers, onto the road and all over himself. And we continued to see drunk men and women throughout the trip.

    The old Soviet Union was a decrepit and boring place, but with many incredibly beautiful tourist sites, such as the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and the Hermitage in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). The Gum Department store in Moscow was a complete joke. The appliance department had one, just one mind you, floor display models of a washer and dryer. You had to sign up to buy either one, pay cash in advance, and wait a year or more to get some piece of shit that would likely break down within months of delivery.

    As for ice cream, it was plentiful, but came in only one flavor. Vanilla. That was ok by me, because vanilla is my favorite, and I order it all the time, much to the chagrin of my wife, who is very adventurous when it comes to ice cream. “Why do you even bother,” she says to me all the time. Sheesh.

    Anyway, I think Russians did (or do) drink a lot because they’re just bored and alcohol provides an escape from boredom. Not atypical of a lot of other people.

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    21st February 2013 at 7:17 pm

  7. AWD says:

    Here’s another Russian lady for those that thumbs downed the other one. Fire away homos…

    e8e7f76f-7fef-4fe1-8948-00ebce5d7123.jpg

    This one’s available as a Russian mail-order bride (if you into that kind of thing).

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    21st February 2013 at 7:46 pm

  8. TPC says:

    The first one looked like a 3-D rendering of a woman, not a woman.

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    21st February 2013 at 9:15 pm

  9. TPC says:

    RUSSIAN+2.jpg

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    21st February 2013 at 9:15 pm

  10. T4C says:

    Putin’s mistress
    VOGUE-COVER.jpg

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    21st February 2013 at 11:35 pm

  11. Bruce says:

    TPC.

    Where did you find that picture?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    21st February 2013 at 11:49 pm

  12. T4C says:

    Good take on Russian dashcams on Jon Stewart show 2/19, ya gotta see the cow tip.

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-19-2013/how-i-meteored-your-motherland

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    21st February 2013 at 11:51 pm

  13. TPC says:

    @Bruce – I googled “hot Russian model”. She was in the top 10 or so hits.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    21st February 2013 at 1:33 pm

  14. TeresaE says:

    @Zara

    Your little tidbits of Russian driving are a warning to what will be going down here soon.

    That is what happens when everything is made illegal and your currency goes to hell.

    Just like the security guard that works in Atlanta and has figured out the best way to be believed is to show people the truth, Russian drivers understand it too.

    As will we all eventually.

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    21st February 2013 at 8:13 pm

  15. Frenchie says:

    you have to be mad max to ride a bike in Russia

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    21st February 2013 at 4:10 am

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