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Monday, 23.05.2011
Driver of Minister accused of death threat
Moscow. The driver of Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu threatened another driver, who did not let him pass him, with murder. This is just another scandal in Russia, involving the driving of VIP limousines.
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The incident happened on the Moscow ring road on Saturday. Being fought up in traffic, Shoigu' s driver turned on his blue light so that he could pass everyone. The driver in front of him ignored the signal and did not move out of the way.
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The angry VIP-driver was twice unlucky with his outburst, first of all his rowdy behaviour had been made public and secondly, in the car in font of him sat no other than an activist of the civil rights movement "Blue Bucket", who is fighting against the excessive use of the blue lights.
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Shoigu fires his driver
As Chief of the Emergency Situations Ministry, Shoigu has certainly the right to free passage. He should have the same right in an emergency as ambulances and the fire brigade.
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The fatal problem here on Saturday was that neither was the Emergency Situation Minister sitting in the car, nor was there an emergency to attend to, requiring a free passage. The official spokes woman for the ministry said that the driver would be punished. Later on it was announced that the driver had been suspended and it is to be expected that he will be officially sacked on Monday.
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Did not move out of the way as a matter of principal
The "Blue Bucket" activist wants to bring this matter to court. The lawyers for the Russian Automobile Association promised all legal help required. In their opinion, the statements of Shoigu's driver fall under Section 119 Of the Criminal Act: The threat of murder or serious bodily harm.
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The activist stated that he did not let the car pass on purpose as it was in no way related to the " emergency services". This was his principle stand and he was willing to pay the fine due for " refusing to give a vehicle, that has a blue light turned on, right of way".
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Did not give passage out of principle
The 100 to 300 rubel fine won't hurt him - and he has all the publicity he wants for his fight against the illegal use of blue lights on Russian roads. According to the Head of Presidential Administration, Vladimir Koshin, there are around 9000 cars with blue lights In Moscow alone.
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In the last years, the number of spectacular accidents, involving such VIP limousines, had been on the increase. The drivers of such cars believe that they are "better than other road users" and therefore do not take the observing of the rules seriously.
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