Kazakhstan Self-Driving Tour Traffic Rules: What You Need to Know Before You Go

I read many posts complaining about Kazakh police 👮🏻‍♂️, and I also met a man from Northeast China in Bakht who kept complaining about the police 👮🏻‍♂️. He said that as long as they see a 🇨🇳 vehicle, the police 👮🏻‍♂️ will turn around and chase you to find ways to fine you. This made me feel uneasy every day, afraid that a police car 🚔 would chase me with flashing lights. After entering Kazakhstan, I only drove for about a week and really felt that the police 🚔 check density is really high. Every day, I saw vehicles being stopped. I encountered dozens of police cars 🚔 along the way. Some were busy dealing with other vehicles and let us pass after a few glances. Some followed behind with flashing lights, but turned them off and drove away when they didn't find any violations. Some honked their horns and waved to us in a friendly greeting before driving away, and some even kindly led the way for me. After a few rounds, if you don't violate traffic rules, the police 👮🏻‍♂️ are still friendly. At least I haven't encountered any corrupt police 👮🏻‍♂️ yet, and I pray that I won't encounter any in the future. Maybe there are more corrupt police 👮🏻‍♂️ on the Khorgos to Almaty line. 📝 Main traffic rules in Kazakhstan ‼️ Most importantly The light transmittance of the front windshield & front side window tint must be ≥ 70%. There are no strict restrictions on the rear side windows and rear windshield. Before entering the country, be sure to remove the dark window tint on the driver's and front passenger's side windows. Our windshield has the original factory film, and the light transmittance looks OK, so we didn't remove it. In actual tests, the police 👮🏻‍♂️ didn't stop us. ‼️ Low beam headlights or daytime running lights must be turned on during the day. One day, a police car 🚔 followed me with flashing lights for dozens of seconds, and then drove alongside me and glanced at me a few times. I guess they were checking whether I had removed the film on my windows and whether the daytime running lights were on. After observing that I met the requirements, they turned off the 🚨 lights and drove away. ‼️ Strictly follow the speed limit signs. If the speed limit is 60, driving at 61 is also considered speeding. Near towns and cities, there must be police 🚔 squatting at the entrances and exits of the main urban roads, especially near warning signs that drop from 90 or 70 to 50 or 40. No matter how the cars next to you speed, you should stick to the speed limit and don't exceed it by even one number. ‼️ You must purchase mandatory car insurance (third-party liability insurance). I only bought insurance the day after entering the country when I drove to Semey. Depending on the vehicle, it costs about 300 per month. ‼️ It is forbidden to turn right at a red light unless there is a green right-turn arrow light. A yellow diamond symbol on the main road indicates that the vehicle has the right of way. An inverted triangle symbol indicates that you must yield to vehicles on the main road or vehicles in the direction with right of way. ‼️ When the other vehicle keeps flashing its lights at you, it is kindly reminding you that there are police 👮🏻‍♂️ ahead, maybe a few kilometers or dozens of kilometers ahead. Once, a kind person gave me a signal dozens of kilometers away.