Getting back to the Kazakhstan issues that have jumped back into my consciousness since returning to Astana (and admittedly this one isn’t exactly a calamity for us, as we don’t own a car in this country), a friend of ours was pulled over last year whilst driving in a perfectly normal manner. The reason the policeman stopped (and attempted to fine) him? His car was too dirty. We’re not talking about number plates being obscured (I agree, no matter the state of the rest of the car, whenever practical the number plates should be readable) or even his headlights being dangerously muddy (so cars travelling in the opposite direction at night might not see him in time), no, it was the main body that was deemed to be a disgrace to the city.
I don’t know if there was a visiting dignitary who had a lot of disdain for cars that aren’t sparkling, but TBH, there are SO many more issues the police could focus on with motorists before even considering the cosmetic appearance of a car. More on those other issues in the days to come 🙂
Anyway, if you want to be taken seriously, and not have accusations of possible supplementary income sources levelled at your police force, I feel a muddy car should not be a reason to pull you over.
Apr 03 2010
April 7th, 2010 7:36 pm
Bloody hell! My land Rover wouldn’t last ten minutes out there. The whole point of having an off road vehicle is to get it dirty
April 9th, 2010 1:07 am
It isn’t a rule I’ve heard being regularly enforced, who knows if it is even a real rule written down anywhere, but it still amused me that they’d choose to select that crime above others to enforce.
April 20th, 2010 8:39 am
[…] sidewalks everywhere. And well-drained roads so there isn’t mud. And if we are also enforcing rules that cars in Astana should be clean, can we please clean the city up? Less mud, less construction and please stop running your car in […]