Since the advent of automobiles, each country has set its own traffic rules. Such an abundance of various rules significantly hampered the implementation of freight and passenger road transport. Therefore, European countries decided to standardize the order of being on the road around the world and bring national road rules to a common denominator. The result of this painstaking work was the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, thanks to which the general rules of the road became uniform and binding.
What is the Vienna Convention?
This international treaty was concluded in 1968. The main purpose of this agreement was the adoption of measures necessary to improve traffic safety in all countries of the world. The treaty itself was presented at a UNESCO conference held in autumn 1968 in Vienna. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic was also adopted there, standardizing the use of road signs, markings and other indicators that would make it easier to travel on the roads of various countries. In 1971, in Geneva, were worked out and included in this agreementfinal changes, according to which, each state recognizes a driver's license issued in the territory of another country to foreign citizens, without mandatory confirmation of these rights by national authorities. Thanks to the convention, any traveler can freely cross the borders of participating countries without worrying about whether a driver's license is valid.
Vienna convention and driver's license
States that have ratified the agreement of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968 recognize the Russian driver's license without the need to retake the exam and obtain international uniform certificates. In 2006, the form of the internal driver's license was changed according to international standards. The countries of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic have pledged to bring their domestic certificates to an internationally uniform format within five years. In Russia, certificates of a new type began to operate from March 2011. Old driver's licenses are still valid, but they must be replaced with international documents to travel abroad.
How is the procedure for adopting a convention
In total, according to the United Nations, 82 states have joined the convention. Later it was signed by 38 more states. Eight new countries have joined the general rules of the road after the collapse of the previous states. But for entry into the convention, one signature under the contract is not enough. Need tothe parliament of each state approved (ratified) this document. Only then will the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic become binding on the territory of that country. A country that has signed the convention, but has not ratified it, has the right not to recognize foreign driver's licenses on the territory of its own state.
Are Russian rights recognized abroad
In Internet publications you can find information that the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic obliges all participating countries to recognize a driver's license issued by these states. This statement is not entirely correct. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968, as amended, recommends bringing all the rights of the participating countries to a single international model. Thus, certification of the driver for the approved category (A, B, C, etc.) and the Latin transliteration of the driver's surname become an obligatory requisite for international rights.
Can foreigners use their rights in Russia
According to the Decree of 1999, all foreign citizens temporarily staying on the territory of our state can drive vehicles with an international driving license. But such persons do not have the right to take part in economic transactions or work for hire with the involvement of vehicles. In other words, you can travel by car only for personal or tourist purposes. It is forbidden to operate a car with a foreign license. In order tocarry out business activities, you must prove your ability to drive a vehicle by passing a qualifying exam.
If a citizen of Russia has received a driving license in another state, he does not have the right to drive a car on the territory of our country. According to the Vienna agreements, the participating countries are not required to recognize foreign rights issued to their own citizens. Therefore, Russian citizens should retake a qualifying driving test in order to obtain a Russian-style license.
Meaning of convention
The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic has greatly simplified the process of crossing borders. Now the goods could be delivered by one vehicle in the specified direction - so the cost of logistics services for end users has become much lower.
The rules of the road have also been significantly simplified - road signs, road markings, traffic controllers have been unified - now these parameters have become the same for all participating countries. As a result, the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic has become another factor in the unification of national economies into a single world system.
