Originally posted by Neubob
These Russians clearly never drove in the greater Los Angeles metro area.
And as for the tunnel, the most dangerous element here isn't the ice, the turns, the lack of lighting or the accordian-jointed Troleybusses. Without the Russian people (their mentality most clearly evidenced when right after witnessing and nearly missing a catastrophic accident, the first thing on their minds is to wiggle through and find the first opening so they can avoid the inconvenience and keep on driving), none of this spectacular idiocy could be possible.
Sorry Beard, but you live in a city of drunken lunatics.
About Americans who never take over - it's a quote from some guys who drove rented "cow-loke" (compared to their VAZ 8 and 9 model) on the East Coast.
Second. There are enough idiots everywhere. What we have here is nothing more then a "meddle" of accidents, filmed on 3km of Lefortovo tunnel, both ways, so let's understand that in fact it's 6km, for over then 2 years. I bet if you'll combine all such accidents on the same distance in LA area - the result will be more pathetic, even involving modern cars, not Ladas, Mercedes buses, not Ikarus or LiAZ, and modern trucks, not ZiL-130. And it will be seen in an area where small snow causes national catastrophe. When I was in St.Louis in Feb. 1989 they
cancelled classes at school when it was -15C and 10cm of snow! Here I enjoyed cancelled classes only once when it was below -20C in Leningrad, with 100% humidity and 20m/s wind. In Moscow they didn't cancel classes when it was -35C in the morning back in the 80s.
I wonder what could happen if it was -38 in the morning and 50cm of snow falling in one night! Here American cars like Ford Focus, designed for Russia, had their skin "shrinked" so that their frame underneath was clearly seen, like ribs on underfed cow! In such weather 90% of you guys will be unable to start your engine. And don't tell me about "cold places" that you have in the US: NYC is on the altitude of Tashkent. Tashkent! And non-continental climate all over the States! And Gulfstream on the East Coast!
The main problems are, as I said, poor tires (all-season Soviet rubber) that completely fails at low temperatures and "shahid-taxi" drivers ("shahid" now means a Moslim kamikaze-bomber, "shaha" means a Lada model 6 ("shestaya model'"). "Shahid-taxists" can't drive and they use their cars literally until they fall into pieces, or crash when the rubber on tires is worn to the cord.
Try driving drunk here. Our beloved Militia knows it's business, they see such drivers from several km, and the "excuse ticket" now is above $1K, my official salary for a year. And if you drive an expensive car, not Lada or a 20-years old Euro - it will be more. Much more.
Sorry for asking, but how long ago did you leave Russia/USSR? How old are you? I am 33, one of the last Comsomol members (nothing to be proud about, I spent 50 kopeykas on it [25 months 87-89] before I got my personal card back in MVTU because VLKSM ceased to exist).
