World Travel Guide

City Guide  - St Petersburg  - Road
Road

Driving in Russia is best avoided. Roads are poor, petrol stations few and far between and the quality of the fuel is poor. Accidents caused by bad driving are frequent and the GAI 9 (Guy-ee) Traffic Police are notorious for supplementing their salaries by fining foreign drivers for alleged traffic violations. However, with signs hidden, non-existent or in Cyrillic script, it is also easy to commit an offence.

An International Driving Permit and licence from the driver's home country is required. The minimum driving age is 18 years. Bringing a car from Europe entails making a customs declaration promising to take it out on departure and failure to do so can lead to serious problems. Also required are the vehicle registration documents and proof of valid insurance cover.

Traffic drives on the right, speed limits are 60kph (37mph) in built-up areas and 110kph (68mph) elsewhere. In the main, it is illegal to turn left. Everyone must wear a seat belt. Drink driving is a very serious offence likely to result in a prison sentence. In law, a blood alcohol ratio of 0.04% is permissible, however, in practice, drinking any alcohol and then driving is illegal.

Emergency breakdown service(s):
UMA Autoclub (tel: (812) 329 5777)

Routes to the city: The main roads into the city are the M10 from Helsinki to Moscow and the M11 from Berlin via Poland.

Driving times to St Petersburg: From Helsinki - 5 hours 30 minutes; Moscow - 10 hours 30 minutes; Berlin - 21 hours 52 minutes.

Coach services: There are central bus enquiries (tel: (812) 166 5777) and two main bus terminals in St Petersburg. Avtovokal N1 (Bus Terminal 1) (tel: (812) 166 0729; fax: (812) 166 5307) operates the intercity and international bus service and is located on Dnepropetrovskaya ulitsa. Finnord (tel: (812) 314 8951; fax: (812) 274 3460) operates a daily coach service to and from Helsinki from their office at Italyanskayu ulitsa 37 with stops at the Pulkovskava and Astoria Hotels. Avtovokzal N2 (Bus Terminal 2) (tel: (812) 166 5777) on M Ligovsky prospekt is for buses travelling within the Leningrad region and to nearby cities like Novgorod. Facilities at the terminals are basic to non-existent.



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