DRIVING IN KYRGYZSTAN

This is based on an answer to an enquiry we received by email from someone who was planning to bring their own vehicle to Kyrgyzstan. As such it is written in the first person. It is not meant to be definitive advice or exhaustive.

Make sure you have all the right registration documents — we suggest you contact the embassy to check what is required. If the vehicle is in transit (i. e. you will leave Kyrgyzstan in it) there should be no customs duties etc.

You will also need an international driver's licence.

Technically, in Bishkek, and Osh you have to register the vehicle with the traffic police.

If you drive a vehicle in Kyrgyzstan then expect to be stopped by the traffic police (GAI). They will be standing at the road side and may point at you with a red or white truncheon. They may want:

• to check your documents, (you will need your driver's license - preferably an international one - possibly your passport and the registration document for the vehicle - and if it is not your vehicle then you will need an official document from the owner giving you permission to drive it.);
  
• to see if you have been drinking, technically, there is a zero limit. Although there are "breathalysers", you will probably be asked to breath into a paper cone, or the GAI will simply smell your breath. If the GAI think that you have been drinking they can ask you to go to a hospital for analysis - and can confiscate your license and impound your vehicle.
  
• or they may want to give you a fine (a "shtraff") - and they can be quite inventive for finding reasons for issuing a fine - such as :
  
  • speeding,
    
  • not observing the road signs,
    
  • having a minor error in the documentation (maybe the document was filled in using a blue pen but signed with a black one!!!),
    
  • failing to carry a fire extinguisher,
    
  • failing to have a First Aid kit,
    
  • having no light illuminating your rear number plate,
    
  • having too many people on the back seat,
    
  • having a dirty car (seriously this can happen in Bishkek), or even
    
  • wearing a dirty shirt!!! (this is not an offence in itself - but one GAI thought that this was a sure sign that the driver had been drinking).
    

Fines are paid «on the spot» and there should be, but rarely is, a receipt. It is possible for the GAI to confiscate your license, (although they should give you a replacement — valid for three days), or to impound the vehicle.

The speed limit in built-up areas is 60 km/hour, elsewhere it is 90 km/hour — but there are places where different figures are displayed on road-signs. In rural areas it is not always obvious where villages start and end — don«t assume that because there are no houses immediately obvious that you not in a «built up area» — keep an eye open for village name signs and treat them as «60 km/hour» signs.

In Bishkek, «sleeping policemen» are located by schools.

If you see a motorcade coming towards you with lights flashing — pull over to the side of the road until the motorcade has passed by.

At traffic lights — a green arrow means that traffic can proceed in that direction … don«t think that a green light (without any arrows) means that anyone can proceed — if there is an arrow pointing in the direction you want to take then you must wait for the green arrow. The sequence will be Green — Flashing Green — Yellow — Red.

Don«t park overnight in the street — unless you want you car broken into — or stolen. Use a car park — preferably one with a fence — it is worth paying the small fee involved.

Petrol in rural areas may be 75 octane. 86 (rarely), and if you are very lucky you may find 93 or 95 — but don«t rely on it. Diesel may also be hard to find. In the petrol station — especially if there is no electricity — be prepared to pay 1 som to the child or attendant who (literally) pumps the fuel for you.

A press report (March 2002) noted that the traffic police reported a lot of violations of traffic rules by both druvers and pedestrians. They saud that the situationon the roads could be classified as «alarming». Apparently 25% of road accidents were blamed on pedestrians — who, unlike drivers, bear no responsibility for violations of traffic rules. Cited as another cause of concern was the drivers of «masrsharutka» mini-buses in the city who often stop to pick-ip or put down passengers at inappropriate points.

Hertz Rent-a-car now have a franchise in Bishkek.