The Russian authorities have specific regulations regarding vehicle cleanliness. If a car is deemed too dirty, the driver may be stopped by the police and issued an on - the - spot fine of up to 500 roubles. However, the definition of "dirty" is somewhat open - to - interpretation. A survey by a Russian newspaper showed that 46% of the public considered a muddy license plate as a sign of a dirty car, while 22% thought cars with "wash me" written on them should be penalized. Interestingly, 9% believed that as long as the driver could be seen clearly, the car should not be considered dirty.

Digging deeper into the Russian Federation motoring rules, it is actually against the law when the number plate is dirty and the registration number is not visible. But due to a lack of public awareness of this exact rule, some unethical policemen may demand fines even for cars that are just generally dirty. To address this, Russian radio stations have started programs to inform the public about the actual rules. This way, drivers can question the policemen if they are wrongly fined while having a clean number plate. Clearly, this rule has motivated many car owners to keep their cars clean to avoid any trouble with the law.