Post: #1

Well, being confused and driving is dangerous.

Russia says drivers must not have 'sex disorders'

Quote:Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licences.

Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.

The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.

"Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list. Russian psychiatrists and human rights lawyers have condemned the move.

The announcement follows international complaints about Russian harassment of gay-rights activists.

In 2013 Russia made "promoting non-traditional lifestyles" illegal.

Valery Evtushenko at the Russian Psychiatric Association voiced concern about the driving restrictions, speaking to the BBC Russian Service. He said some people would avoid seeking psychiatric help, fearing a driving ban.

The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights called the new law "discriminatory". It said it would demand clarifications from the Russian Constitutional Court and seek support from international human rights organisations.

But the Professional Drivers Union supported the move. "We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified," said the union's head Alexander Kotov.

However, he said the requirements should not be so strict for non-professional drivers.

Mikhail Strakhov, a Russian psychiatric expert, told BBC Russian that the definition of "personality disorders" was too vague and some disorders would not affect a person's ability to drive a car safely.

Post: #2

You ever see those Russian dash cam crash videos?

Driving is truly fucked up over there.

Not sure how much these rules will change that though.

Post: #3

Can you imagine the bureaucrat that is going to have to deal with this with a straight face when the word gets around?

Post: #4

"We have no gay people in Russia—there are homosexuals but they are not allowed to be gay about it. The punishment is seven years locked in prison with other men and there is a three-year waiting list for that." -- Yakov Smirnoff

Post: #5

I don't have a problem with this, and I think it's hilarious how masterful the Russians have become at trolling the rest of the world.

Post: #6

(01-08-2015 07:06 PM)Plato Wrote:  You ever see those Russian dash cam crash videos?

Driving is truly fucked up over there.

Not sure how much these rules will change that though.

Of all the Russian dash cam videos I've seen, this is the one that's stuck with me:

Post: #7

(01-08-2015 10:00 PM)Cincinnatus Wrote:  Of all the Russian dash cam videos I've seen, this is the one that's stuck with me:

Jesus.

Post: #8

The more that stuff like this happens, the more I love Russia. I have to visit one day.

Post: #9

Post: #10

To be fair, as much as I laughed at this, it's a very misleading headline, typical of current anti-Russian sentiment in Western media.

The Russian government has introduced a heavy-handed, blanket law. banning anyone with a mental disorder from getting behind the wheel, and transexuality happens to be classified as a mental disorder there. This wasn't even done with trannies in mind; they're collateral damage, but every article on Russia right now needs to have a gay/tranny oppression narrative to get printed.

To put it in perspective, this law would also ban people with OCD and tourettes from driving. It's just a stupid law that's likely to lead to untreated mental problems by people who would prefer to continue driving.

Post: #11

Stupid question but are people with mental disorders allowed to leave the country? Or are they just forced to the fringes of society or thrown in jail?

Post: #12

Trannies are at a greater risk for commiting suicide and deliberately driving into a truck or something as a way to end someone's life isn't unheard of. So in a way this law makes sense.

Post: #13

God, I love Russia.

Post: #14

(01-09-2015 06:06 AM)Ocelot Wrote:  To be fair, as much as I laughed at this, it's a very misleading headline, typical of current anti-Russian sentiment in Western media.

The Russian government has introduced a heavy-handed, blanket law. banning anyone with a mental disorder from getting behind the wheel, and transexuality happens to be classified as a mental disorder there. This wasn't even done with trannies in mind; they're collateral damage, but every article on Russia right now needs to have a gay/tranny oppression narrative to get printed.

To put it in perspective, this law would also ban people with OCD and tourettes from driving. It's just a stupid law that's likely to lead to untreated mental problems by people who would prefer to continue driving.

MSM hard at work.

It is fucking ridiculous that they even operate in this way. Skewing every story to fit the agenda that they wish, which is to generate outrage to make more money for themselves.

Their business is not reporting the news, their business is spinning the news in any way possible, no matter the consequences or how irresponsible it may be, to generate as much revenue as possible.

This article should have been titled "Russians with mental disorders no longer eligible to drive". "Sex disorders" should have been nowhere in the title.

Post: #15

This has nothing at all to do with highway safety.
If it did, Russia would be engaging in a massive crackdown on chronic alcoholism and drunk driving.
So what's up with this?
Nothing new for Russia, just make an overly broad and vague law, and then selectively enforce it against political opponents. In Soviet times, a favorite tactic was to declare someone insane and then force them into a hellish lockdown psychiatric facility where they were pumped full of drugs.
The plebes have been getting restless with the whole Alexei Navalny thing, and economic deprivation and chaos only makes things more problematic from a Kremlin point of view.

Post: #16

(01-08-2015 10:00 PM)Cincinnatus Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 07:06 PM)Plato Wrote:  You ever see those Russian dash cam crash videos?

Driving is truly fucked up over there.

Not sure how much these rules will change that though.

Of all the Russian dash cam videos I've seen, this is the one that's stuck with me:

Holy shit! That SUV got peeled open like a fucking tin can.