OK...so it's just not us Americans that have forgotten how to drive! Here is a story from the BBC about the spike in recent road deaths in Russia. Take a special not of the reports sitting Cell (Mobile) phone use, as well as speed and alcohol as being attributed to the rise. People need to learn that vehicles are basically weapons, 2 tons of metal moving at high rates of speed. The U.S. Navy compares the firing of its "Big Guns" from the battle ships as shooting a VW Bug at high speed some 20 miles from the ship. Ok...the velocity is less in a car traveling on the roads...but most cars are also much heavier than the old VW Bugs. Please read this story and think to yourself...how much different are we Americans in comparison to our Russia counterparts?
Russian car crash spate kills 100
By Daniel Fisher
BBC News, Moscow
Vladimir Putin treasures his 1956 Volga - but his country's roads are perilous
A spate of serious road accidents across Russia has killed more than 100 people - leading the government to blame "systemic" road problems.
Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev blamed criminal negligence and a road culture lacking basic driving skills.
He admitted Russian roads are bad, infrastructure is weak and drivers often chat on their mobile phones at high speed or drive while drunk.
Over 10,000 people died on Russian roads in 2009 - Europe's highest toll.
In the last week a drunk driver in Perm hit a pregnant woman and child in a car-park, killing them both.
In Novosibirsk, central Russia, a passenger bus overturned, killing eight and injuring 30.
Day of mourning
Police are investigating reports that the driver was either asleep or on his mobile phone.
Meanwhile a day of mourning was declared in Rostov after a bus hit a tanker killing 21 people.
The Russian government has made earnest attempts to combat bad driving - including employing legions of traffic police with stop and search powers.
But Mr Nurgaliev admitted most drivers in Russia still think they can break the law and get away with it.
By Daniel Fisher
BBC News, Moscow
Vladimir Putin treasures his 1956 Volga - but his country's roads are perilous
A spate of serious road accidents across Russia has killed more than 100 people - leading the government to blame "systemic" road problems.
Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev blamed criminal negligence and a road culture lacking basic driving skills.
He admitted Russian roads are bad, infrastructure is weak and drivers often chat on their mobile phones at high speed or drive while drunk.
Over 10,000 people died on Russian roads in 2009 - Europe's highest toll.
In the last week a drunk driver in Perm hit a pregnant woman and child in a car-park, killing them both.
In Novosibirsk, central Russia, a passenger bus overturned, killing eight and injuring 30.
Day of mourning
Police are investigating reports that the driver was either asleep or on his mobile phone.
Meanwhile a day of mourning was declared in Rostov after a bus hit a tanker killing 21 people.
The Russian government has made earnest attempts to combat bad driving - including employing legions of traffic police with stop and search powers.
But Mr Nurgaliev admitted most drivers in Russia still think they can break the law and get away with it.
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