Driving licence in Russia

Russia was one of the first countries to ever adopt driver's licenses, 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 are 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 passenger seats)
• E- category: non-motorized vehicle with special connection gear to the rear of the A, B, C, D category vehicles.

Currently Russia employs a system of driver's licenses very similar to EU standard with two additional categories:

• A2 similar to European A limited, as A does not limit the specs of motorbikes
  • Bikes with engine displacements lower than 50 cc and speeds lower than 50 km/h are considered mopeds and doesn't require licence to drive
• B1 for tricycles and quadracycles.

The current license style, introduced in 1999, is a laminated plastic card similar to the EU license card in dimensions and outward appearance, with the bearer's photo and name (in Latin and Cyrillic scripts) to the left, place/date of issue, allowed categories and signature to the right. The reverse of the card feature a detailed list of allowed categories in Russian. Older booklet-style licenses are also occasionally seen although they are no longer issued and are increasingly rare as a result. The Russian driving license is also sometimes supplemented by a special card called "временное разрешение" (temporal permission), which serves for registering offense points and as a temporary license if the primary license is seized by authorities for serious traffic offenses. This supplement has been abolished and reinstated countless numbers of times as the views of the traffic police change.

The legal driving age within the Russian Federation is 18 years(16 years for A-category, 20 for D-category) and to obtain a license one must be physically fit to drive (including a certificates of mental fitness and no record as a substance abuser). One must also pass a test administered at a local traffic police authority as well as pay a fee. Tests are divided into theory and practice. The theory test is usually a computerized multiple-choice test on various traffic rules. 20 multiple-choice questions are asked, with two incorrect answers allowed for a passing grade. A road test is then administered which includes a demonstration of basic driving skills (steering, slope starting for manual transmission vehicles and backing-up) on an obstacle course as well as a skills examination for road driving. Five errors are allowed for obstacle course and the road driving examination is a pass-fail system. The number of retries is unlimited.

References

www.russian-translation-pros.com