Danger to the traffic

For long, long time I was not stopped by traffic police. Last Friday I was stopped twice.

First at 6.45 in the morning driving to the gym. It was still a bit dark, snowing and of course roads were not clean. At one traffic light a police car was standing next to my car. I actually did not notice it's a police car but I heard the horn. I looked at the car saw it's a police car and the policemen signaled me to switch on lights. I pull down the window and said “spasibo” which is thank you in Russian. The moment I said it, I saw the policeman was startled. He turned to his colleague and few seconds later motioned me to stop on the side of a road. Than it was my turn to be shocked. I was thinking they cannot pull me for thanking them to switch on the lights!
I handed a policeman my docs. He looked at them and asked me if I was drinking (!!!). I could not believe it – he thought I am drank because I said "thank you". He stopped me because I was polite!!!
I answered I drive to the gym. Seems such an answer cannot be provided by an alcoholic. The policeman returned doc’s. End of story. I drove on.

Even more startling police stop happened the same evening. I was returning home around 9 pm. It was snowing most of the day so streets were ugly porridge of slush and ice. And it continued snowing. I drove carefuly and slowly. At the crossroad close to my house I turned while it was still green. At the same time a car from opposite direction was also turning driving fast. I let it go. After the car passed I continued on. Than the police stopped me. The first thigh a policeman said to me was “A pochemu vi hooliganyte” or in translation “why you behave as a hooligan?” I asked him for an explanation and he told me I drove through red. I was adamant I passed through the green light on what policeman answered: “Yes, probably it was green when you entered the crossroad but you are driving so slow that when you turned it was red!” I lost it. I started shouting at him: “You stopped me because I drive carefully and slow but you had not stopped the car in front of me which drove fast? Are you telling me that driving carefully is a traffic violation? I shouted and screamed in my broken Russian. When I told him that I hardly wait to sign a protocol (a document police write on a spot for a traffic violation and which has to be signed by a driver) in which he will put that I am dangerous on the road because I drive slow he returned docs to me. When returning docs he asked ”Why are you upset? Why are you shouting” I wanted to tell him because I never heard such an absurd statement that driving carefully is a danger to the traffic. But I doubted he would understand it. So I told him “Because I am highly emotional woman”. That he is an extreme idiot I kept for myself.

How bad roads in Kiev are see at: http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/KievMainRoads?feat=directlink