Driving licence in Russia
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Russia was one of the first countries to ever adopt driver's licences, with first ones issued in 1900 by Saint-Petersburg authorities, and joined international convention in 1909, but due to relatively small number of automobiles these attempts were rather sporadic and limited to major centers only. No comprehensive system of drivers' licensing were present until 1936, when Soviet government finally organized and standardized traffic and driving regulations, with this state-wide system to be regulated by specialized police authorities.
In the Russian Federation there there were only 5 categories of motorized vehicles which require a driving license:
- A-category: any type of motorbike
- B-category: motorized vehicle under 3,5 tons
- C-category: motorized vehicle over 3,5 tons
- D-category: Bus (has more than 8 passager seats)
- E- category: non-motorized vehicle with special connection gear to the rear of the A, B, C, D category vehicles.
Currently Russia employ a system of driver's licences very similar to EU standard with two additional categories:
- A2 similar to European A limited, as A does not limit the specs of motorbikes
- B1 for tricycles and quadracycles
Current licence style, introduced in 1999, is a laminated plastic card similar to the EU licence card in dimensions and outward appearance, with bearer's photo to the left and name (in Latin and Cyrillic scripts), place/date of issue, allowed categories and signature to the right. Reverse of a card feature a detailed list of allowed categories in Russian. Older booklet-style licences are also to be seen sometimes, however as they aren't issued anymore and licences are to be renewed each 10 years, they are increasingly rare. Licence is also sometimes supplemented by a special card called "временное разрешение" (temporal permission), which serves for registering an offense points and as a temporal licence if main one is seized by authorities for serious traffic offences. This supplement is abolished and reinstated a countless number of times following a current views in the traffic police.
Legal driving age is 18 years and to obtain a licence one have to be physically fit to driving (including a certificates of mental fitness and lack of registration as a substance abuser) and have to pass the test at the local traffic police authorities for a certain fee. Tests are divited to theory and practice. Theory test is usually the computerized multiple-choice test on traffic rules. 20 questions are asked with 5 answer options provided for each question, with two incorrect answers allowed for passing the test. Practice ride includes a demonstration of basic driving skills (steering, slope starting for a manual transmission cars and backwards driving) on an obstacle course and road driving. Five errors are allowed for obstacle course and road drive is basically a pass-fail system. Number of retries is unlimited.
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