Ukraine 2012.Please help!!!

Dear tossers. I'm not quite sure where to start but I do appreciate your patience and advice. We are a group of two lads who quite few years back decided on do a bit of toring here and there. On our super sport bikes we toured through France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Holland Slovakia, Czech, Hungary, did some crazy miles and last year we finally decided to trade them in and get more sensible bikes and trip to Romania for two weeks and almost 6000 mls, which was epic! We finally got to our senses and both bought r 1200 gsa's and planning a trip to Ukraine this year. I have been reading all sorts of horror stories about DAI , aka the famous Ukrainian road police and the never ending fine paying. How bad it really is? Do you have to budget for these close encounters with these extraterrestrials, and how much? I'm starting to get little bit worried about the cost and the possible consequences as I haven't been stopped by police in any of the eastern European countries before, despite being Slovakian national riding on a British registered machine. Any help and advice on this subject is welcome.
Regards, Tom

Hi Tom,

The road police certainly have a very high presence, however you'll find that all other road users (cars/buses/trucks) give everyone plenty of warning when they're around by flshing their headlights. The speed traps are more or less always in the 60 km/h (urban/town) zones. The problem is that when leaving a built-up area, there's often a clear road, nothing but fields/trees and you think you've left the 60 km/h zone. This is one of the police's favourite haunts...

If you do get pulled, 5 Euros/Dollars is usually enough to solve the "big problem" that they ususally start the conversation with

I did Lviv-Kiev-Odessa in July last year, I was in Ukraine for 8 days. I got stopped twice, the first time i just plain ignored them, gave it large amounts of "I don't understand" etc. Drove away with my wallet intact. i think once they realise they are going to have to work for their money they lose interest. the second time I told the cop he wasn't getting any money before he opened his mouth....
So not really a problem at all, when you do see them on the side of the road they will stop you if they get a chance despite what speed you are actually doing, If I had enough warning I'd find a lorry to tuck in behind thereby removing the opportunity from them. A couple of times they waved their wand at me so I just waved back!!!
Don't let any of this put you off, it's a great country, you'll be made welcome by pretty much everyone.
If you have any specific questions PM me.

JC

Use photo copies of reg doc, laminated copy of driving licence, ignore the waving stick, if chased down by the turbo passet, (they will pretend to be outraged and may show you all sorts of books with massive fines in them and even start filling in forms with your details), be very sorry, don't understand anything and say you haven't got any money and show them your spare wallet with just $10 or $20 in it (your colleague down the road took all my cash) and a spare credit card or 2 . Call their bluff if necessary. It may take a little time but they soon get bored and take the Dollars/Euro s. Have heard of one guy who got fed up with being asked for $50 and called there bluff (take me to your leader) they then folded and took the money. Worrying the first time for sure, but it's a game they play all day and are very good at it. Once it's happen once you get the hang of it, you may be unlucky and get stopped again but you'll know the score by then. One to tick of the bucket list though, not many places you can bribe a policeman for $10.

Enjoy the trip.

Hi,

I toured Ukraine and the Crimea in 2010...I had a great time, and it's highly recommended. It can seem a bit sparse on attractions, and any medeaval heritage, as most of it seemed to have taken a battering in the war. But despite that I still enjoyed it, and it was certainly an adventure.

As regards the police....

I travelled around as much of Ukraine as I could (75%) so I covered a lot of miles, then went down to the Crimea and drove all around there. So all in all a lot of miles.

In that time the police were ever present, and I was pulled over many times.....

.....it did become a bit of a chore in the end, and sometimes the initial amount they want is just crazy!
But like has been suggested I took a second wallet with some Ukraine money and some dollars in it. But don't keep all you take in the wallet....drip feed what you have into so that when you are stopped there is very little to take....as a rule of thumb they are happy to take what you have, they'll settle for $20 if that's what you have, if you have $100/$200/etc that is what your fine is!!

They don't really want the Ukraine cash, and love dollars....on one occassion they turned their noses up at £40 worth of Ukraine money to take $20!!

Like I said it can become tedious, but it doesn't spoil your trip. If you handle it right it quickly passes, and they were all civil enough, it's all part of the game, and once you're used to it you can just play along.

I guess in the miles I covered it didn't happen very often per mile....and there was days when I wasn't stopped at all....but on the days when I was stopped 3 times, and given more to the police in a day than for my lodgings, then like I said it can drain you.

Also, now I think of it I wasn't stopped once in the Crimea!.....but I do remember that the driving in the Crimea was a lot lot worse!...horrendously bad!!....and the really bad accidents were a daily sight!!
I think it was a mixture of the Russian and Moldovian driving??

As for cost per day?...screw your loaf and each stop might cost you $20? You might not get stopped for days, you might get stopped three times in a day?....if you drive like an idiot, or very fast, then I think your risk would be a lot higher, and maybe your fine too?

Overall, having said all that I wouldn't worry too much...if you've riden in Eastern Europe I'm sure you know the score...it just seemed slightly worse there, but not excessive.

Go, and enjoy!

How about geting your hands on some Zimbabwean dollars...? That should get them realy excited. I have a $ 50,000,000 (Fifty million) note in my wallet just for a laugh. It's worth about 20p. Show a Ukrainian cop that and he'll probably give you a personal escort to where ever you want to go

You will not need a visa and you do not need to register anywhere, you may or may not need to buy insurance at the border, it depends on oh the day of the week, colour of your eyes, what song is playing on the radio. Make sure you have an international driving permit, although in 10 years I have never been asked for it. Make sure you have all original documents with you not photocopies, V5, driving licence, insurance in u.k. and m.o.t. also the bike has to registered in the drivers name, and in Ukraine you cannot ride or drive a vehicle that is not yours.i:e borrow your mates bike. Stick to the speed limits, be on the lookout for oncoming vehicles on your side of the road, flashing lights mean a speed trap ahead, although this practice is getting less and less. You may be stopped and asked for a fine, always ask to see his i.d and ask him to write his name and number, there are currently numerous bandits stopping foreign vehicles and demanding money illegally.
Try to find a hotel with secure parking and secure your machine. Never buy petrol if offered at the side of the road, it will be contanimated.

I have lived here for 10 years and treat all road users here as idiots. Highest death rate and could not care less attitude by the police make the roads interesting, the police will see you as a cashpoint and have now latched on to the credit card thing and will offer to accompany you to the cashpoint. They also will now prefer local currency due to new changes in money changing regulations.

Have fun ride safe, oh and zero tolerance for drink driving, do not have a beer in the evening and drive the next morning if you think you might have some alcohol left in your bloodstream. If you are stopped and he insisits you have been drinking, offer to have a blood test at the nearest hospital, he will not want to spend time away from his personal cash cow piece of road.

hope this helps