Anyone who has been in Ukraine, spent any time in a car, and either put on or tried to put on a seatbelt has, no doubt, met some resistance, been laughed at, or gotten a dissertation on how stupid those pesky seatbelts are. It really is incredible the lengths that some people will go to in order to not to have to use them. As far as I know, seatbelt use is actually mandatory in Ukraine, just as it is in many US states. It’s just that using them is way more inconvenient that getting caught without using them. I was in a car a few weeks ago where no one was wearing their seatbelts, when one person suddenly spotted an oncoming police cruiser and alerted the rest of the car to sling their respective belts over their shoulders and laps to at least give the illusion of a carload of law-abiding citizens. Another example I saw was in a taxi I took a while back. The car was a newer model, one that has a feature (or major inconvenience- depending on which side of the fence you are on) that if the driver’s seatbelt is not properly locked, a warning chime and lights start to flash and sound in the dashboard until it is correctly clicked. I got into the front seat of the car, and as we started to pull away, I reached back to grab my belt and as I pulled it, it was stuck for some reason. Upon investigation, I realized I was sitting on the belt. Following it along under my butt I realized further that my passenger belt buckle was locked into the driver’s anchor to prevent the lights and chimes. Not being deterred, I casually unlocked it from the driver’s side and got the belt reset to put it on properly. As the driver realized what I was doing, he started telling me that there was no need for me to work on the belt and that since it was nighttime, there would be no chance of the police giving us a problem. I stood my ground and told him that I really needed to use the belt properly and that he shouldn’t worry about whether the police would bother us, if we get hit by another car, I told him, I would probably be the one who lives. As I clicked my belt into place the chimes and lights alerted us that the driver’s side belt was not latched properly. The driver, compromising, unclicked my buckle and inserted it into his side. Voila! I got my belt- so I was happy. He didn’t have to wear his belt- so he was happy. And there were no more dashboard alerts- so we were both happy. These sorts of scenarios have played out over and over during my time here. I do everything I can to wear my seatbelt in every car, but frankly, it is quite impossible sometimes. Last week I actually got out of the front seat of a car before we had started driving and sat in the back after realizing that the passenger seatbelt had been severed and removed from the car altogether! The unfortunate fact is that as difficult as it is to get a buckle to properly latch in the front seat of a Lada, the reality is that it is virtually impossible to find seatbelt components of any kind in the back seat of these cars. I try my best to find them, but realistically, I will not be asking any drivers to stop so that I may pull the back seat cushion up to locate and use the belts that, if they exist, probably have been purposely stuffed way out of sight. Lest anyone actually sit on an unclicked belt end.
I have started to get a ride home from the sauna every week by one of the regulars named Nikolai Ivanovich. He is a nice, old guy- probably in his late 70’s. He lives near me and seems to have no problem dropping me at my building on his way home. My first ride with him was 3 weeks ago. Of course, my first ride was the same as every other one. I pulled the seatbelt, only to be told that I did not need to use it. As usual, I laughed a little and told him that it was OK and that I actually wanted to use the belt. But, this time there was one additional thing. I asked him if he knew of the country in Africa called Mozambique, to which he said yes. I told him that recently two young Peace Corps Volunteers were killed in a car accident there and that I was thinking about them these days. I have always worn my seatbelt, but this seemed like a good time to remind people that people really can and do die in car accidents. (I don’t know or remember all of the details of this specific fatal crash- but for the purposes of this conversation, if they had only been wearing their seatbelts, they might be alive today). Nikolai understood what I was telling him and did not say anything more about me not using the belt. We drove home.
Today, as with the past few weeks, he drove me home again. It is getting colder these days and we had to sit a few minutes waiting for the car to warm up before going. I did my usual by buckling my belt and sat there in the passenger’s seat quietly. Then, something remarkable happened. A split second before Nikolai shifted into reverse, and without looking at me, he reached up, grabbed, and buckled his seatbelt! It was on the tip of my tongue to say something, but I didn’t. I don’t know what prompted this behavior from him. I don’t know if me being in the car had anything to do with it. I don’t know if he wears it when I am not in the car. I don’t know if he will wear it next week when I am in the car again. I does not matter to me right now. I had a huge smile on my face when I saw this old guy who has been driving for ages with his own routine, do something new. I don’t want to look too far into it, but as anyone in Ukraine will tell you, it is a scene rarer than Haley’s Comet to see a Ukrainian wearing a seatbelt, and, at least for a brief moment, I would like to think I may have had the opportunity to change one person’s mind. That is, after all, one of the reasons I am here.
I have started to get a ride home from the sauna every week by one of the regulars named Nikolai Ivanovich. He is a nice, old guy- probably in his late 70’s. He lives near me and seems to have no problem dropping me at my building on his way home. My first ride with him was 3 weeks ago. Of course, my first ride was the same as every other one. I pulled the seatbelt, only to be told that I did not need to use it. As usual, I laughed a little and told him that it was OK and that I actually wanted to use the belt. But, this time there was one additional thing. I asked him if he knew of the country in Africa called Mozambique, to which he said yes. I told him that recently two young Peace Corps Volunteers were killed in a car accident there and that I was thinking about them these days. I have always worn my seatbelt, but this seemed like a good time to remind people that people really can and do die in car accidents. (I don’t know or remember all of the details of this specific fatal crash- but for the purposes of this conversation, if they had only been wearing their seatbelts, they might be alive today). Nikolai understood what I was telling him and did not say anything more about me not using the belt. We drove home.
Today, as with the past few weeks, he drove me home again. It is getting colder these days and we had to sit a few minutes waiting for the car to warm up before going. I did my usual by buckling my belt and sat there in the passenger’s seat quietly. Then, something remarkable happened. A split second before Nikolai shifted into reverse, and without looking at me, he reached up, grabbed, and buckled his seatbelt! It was on the tip of my tongue to say something, but I didn’t. I don’t know what prompted this behavior from him. I don’t know if me being in the car had anything to do with it. I don’t know if he wears it when I am not in the car. I don’t know if he will wear it next week when I am in the car again. I does not matter to me right now. I had a huge smile on my face when I saw this old guy who has been driving for ages with his own routine, do something new. I don’t want to look too far into it, but as anyone in Ukraine will tell you, it is a scene rarer than Haley’s Comet to see a Ukrainian wearing a seatbelt, and, at least for a brief moment, I would like to think I may have had the opportunity to change one person’s mind. That is, after all, one of the reasons I am here.
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