# Things I am learning watching Russian dash-cam videos
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 14, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456 "2013-07-14T04:01:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/1 "2013-07-14T04:01:43Z")
All right, these things are pretty addictive…my daughter and I just watched about 45 minutes of them (all in the spirit of driver’s ed, I assure you ;)). Anyway, things I’ve learned so far:
1. If someone cuts you off in traffic and gets a baseball bat out of his trunk, you’d best be holding a hatchet.
2. The best response to impending danger ahead is to speed up. You might get past it!
3. Honking your horn wildly does not stop an uncontrolled vehicle from slamming into you.
4. Russian women make a distinct and slightly fetching sound when alarmed. Russian men always follow an accident by saying something that sounds rich in sarcasm.
That’s all so far, but there’s still lots more to watch!
---
### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/2 "2013-07-14T04:16:10Z")
All I’ve learned from watching those videos is just to run over the assholes. I mean, seriously, I’m not a violent guy, but something about watching videos like [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ir9AhCRQVk) makes me wish the driver just slammed on the accelerator and ran over the jackass.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/3 "2013-07-14T05:54:02Z")
here are some to make you feel better.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzBInt4zljQ)
---
### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/4 "2013-07-14T10:31:01Z")
The thing that strikes me about many of those videos is the apparent failure of the Russian government to provide the infrastructure to keep their citizens safe!
So many of them show sizable intersections but with no traffic control at all – not even simple stop signs. Here in Minneapolis, we have about 10,000 intersections in the city, and I don’t think there is a single one without at least a stop sign or signal light for one of the streets. (Obviously, some drivers still run red lights or roll thru stop signs.) But we, thru our government, have invested in traffic controls to reduce the risk.
That doesn’t seem to have been done there, from what is shown in these videos.
I remember one (I think in St. Petersburg, Russia) showing a compilation of crash after crash at the intersection. But this was a major intersection (2-3 lanes on all 4 sides, with heavy traffic moving at pretty good speeds), and no visible traffic controls at all. Crashes seem inevitable at such a location.
These videos do show many bad drivers. But I think they also show a bad government!
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### Author:  [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/5 "2013-07-14T10:56:17Z")
Wow. The physics of heavy fast moving objects is kind of terrifying.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E)
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/6 "2013-07-14T13:10:34Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#):
>
> The thing that strikes me about many of those videos is the apparent failure of the Russian government to provide the infrastructure to keep their citizens safe!
>
> So many of them show sizable intersections but with no traffic control at all – not even simple stop signs. Here in Minneapolis, we have about 10,000 intersections in the city, and I don’t think there is a single one without at least a stop sign or signal light for one of the streets. (Obviously, some drivers still run red lights or roll thru stop signs.) But we, thru our government, have invested in traffic controls to reduce the risk.
>
> That doesn’t seem to have been done there, from what is shown in these videos.
>
> I remember one (I think in St. Petersburg, Russia) showing a compilation of crash after crash at the intersection. But this was a major intersection (2-3 lanes on all 4 sides, with heavy traffic moving at pretty good speeds), and no visible traffic controls at all. Crashes seem inevitable at such a location.
>
> These videos do show many bad drivers. But I think they also show a bad government!
So I’ve been wondering about that! A lot of times you can’t see any traffic signal, but I’ve been assuming that they’re out of camera range.
---
### Author:  [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/7 "2013-07-14T13:28:33Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#):
>
> Wow. The physics of heavy fast moving objects is kind of terrifying.
>
> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E)
What the hell happened there at 4:00?
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/8 "2013-07-14T13:58:10Z")
Looks like an overhead tram powerline came loose and lassoed a passing car
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### Author:  [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/9 "2013-07-14T14:39:09Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#):
>
> Wow. The physics of heavy fast moving objects is kind of terrifying.
>
> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E)
That’s like watching a Let’s Play Just Cause 2 … or Saints Row 3. Except with real people. :eek:
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/10 "2013-07-14T15:33:38Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#):
>
> That’s like watching a Let’s Play Just Cause 2 … or Saints Row 3. Except with real people. :eek:
I kind of like the guy at 5:30, who gets into an accident, then just casually grabs his book bag and walks away from the car, like absolutely nothing happened and he’s just continuing on his day.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/11 "2013-07-14T16:19:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> I kind of like the guy at 5:30, who gets into an accident, then just casually grabs his book bag and walks away from the car, like absolutely nothing happened and he’s just continuing on his day.
If it’s the one I recall, there are actually two guys sauntering away from the car! “Nothing to see here…”
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/12 "2013-07-14T16:37:43Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#):
>
> If it’s the one I recall, there are actually two guys sauntering away from the car! “Nothing to see here…”
That’s the one–I wasn’t sure if the other guy (driver’s side) was a pedestrian or someone from the vehicle. (Presumably, the driver.) The whole scene has a kind of Blues Brothers nonchalance to it.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/13 "2013-07-14T16:45:40Z")
Wow. Those people need to sober up and slow down. But sober and slow, they are really nice people.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/14 "2013-07-14T17:00:44Z")
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>
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---
### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/15 "2013-07-14T18:52:39Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#):
>
> Wow. The physics of heavy fast moving objects is kind of terrifying.
>
> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMdLTd1l4E)
How many Russian cars have cameras on their dashboards?
I could understand it if you’re trying to document someone else’s cluelessness, but a fair number of those clips are filmed by the idiots responsible.
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### Author:  [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/16 "2013-07-14T18:57:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> How many Russian cars have cameras on their dashboards?
>
> I could understand it if you’re trying to document someone else’s cluelessness, but a fair number of those clips are filmed by the idiots responsible.
Almost all of them. As I understand it, insurance companies in Russia will refuse to pay out without direct evidence.
Now why the idiots who cause accidents release videos, that I can’t tell you.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/17 "2013-07-14T19:09:12Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#):
>
> Almost all of them. As I understand it, insurance companies in Russia will refuse to pay out without direct evidence.
The whole front of the car caved in isn’t direct enough?
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/18 "2013-07-14T19:17:11Z")
heavens to betsy! i couldn’t watch the whole thing, but dang! hollywood could hire some of these drivers as stuntdrivers. i’m amazed at how many were able to just walk away.
like the guy who jumped on and off the car at 5:30.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/19 "2013-07-14T19:27:58Z")
It’s only been 22 years since the fall of the USSR. How many people in Russia, outside of the military, had cars, or even knew how to drive, under communism? The stuff in these videos has all the hallmarks of a place with no established driving culture. So the results are what we might see in the USA if we just turned a bunch of 14-year-olds in cars loose with no training.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-am-learning-watching-russian-dash-cam-videos/663456/20 "2013-07-14T20:01:02Z")
There’s a whole other genre that is basically mad Russian folk climbing up and hanging off radio masts, bridges etc. Here’s an example (sorry about the music):
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mozYoPICQJE)
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