Ukrainian Driving RULES!

Before we moved here, several people advised one really should get a driver - the roads are sketchy, the drivers chaotic etc.  But after being behind the wheel for over a year here, I can honestly say, I love Ukrainian driving!

OK I'll admit to the warts first....


Distracted drivers, invisible signals & confusing corners
Yes, one does have to contend with distracted drivers (It seems 80% are on the phone - no earbuds or bluetooth)

Intersections can be plain confusing.  It took me about a year to brave this 5 way one near our house...

And since intersections tend to only have 1 set of lights (on the closer side), when you pull all the way forward you can't see the light

(note: the white line is still several meters in front of where I stopped to get this shot)

To know when to go you:
     a) crane your neck up & try to see (I could really use a moon roof)
     b) watch the lights going perpendicular (only works for the ~20% square intersections)
     c) wait till the person behind you honks


I tend to go with C


But what I DO love about the driving here......


Entertaining Road Partners
I've often thought cars have gotten more generic & somewhat boring in the past few decades.  If you agree, come visit Ukraine!  The breadth of ages, types & functionality is quite entertaining  

Old Soviet era Lada's are fairly common - but so are Hyundai SUVs

And I've never lived anywhere with a greater incidence of random construction vehicles

Friendly Flashes
I've also never been anywhere with so many traffic cops.  But the good news, is that people flash like mad.  A cop up ahead?  I'm almost always warned with a flash of the headlights.

Tight squeeze?  When you let someone merge in, they almost always flash their hazards to say thanks

(the bottom of our street)

Full service fuel (only)
Need I say more?  I haven't pumped gas in almost 2 years - love it!


Best of all...
Flexible Road Rules & Creative Solutions
I've mentioned before how I love the liberation of being able to park anywhere.  For example,

My gym has a chaotic parking lot....

So I avoid it & simply park down the road.  
There's never any spots open on the nearby side street - but no problem - there's a nice sidewalk

(Luckily the sidewalks are often quite wide.  On this one, I can even pull all the way on)

But even better are the flexible roads.  Today a main artery was at a dead stop.  So I followed a line of cars making their own path....

The mud patch met up with a dirt path (must have been for pedestrians) as it included some stairs - again no problem - we just veered around...

So while it is common to hire drivers here (and not just for celebrities or oligarchs), I'm enjoying the cheap thrills too much to be passenger

So here's to hitting the road & the freedom of chaos