The republic of Adygea in Russia's North Caucasus region has created a new unit of "wedding police" to make sure wedding motorcades behave on the roads, the local Interior Ministry chief was quoted as saying.
"The creation of the 'wedding police' should put a stop to the difficult situation of the uncontrolled expression of joy by participants of wedding motorcades," Adygea's regional Interior Minister Alexander Rechitsky said, state news agency TASS reported Thursday.
The "wedding police" will be the first such unit in Russia, he added, TASS reported.
The "wedding police" — which will be made up of about 40 officers — will keep an eye on the routes that wedding motorcade participants declare as their planned itineraries and will post officers at the sites frequented by newlyweds, such as parks or city squares, the report said.
Rechitsky vowed that his officers would act "politely and correctly," the report added.
Besides reckless driving, wedding celebrations in Adygea occasionally present other hazards to bystanders. In at least two separate incidents this year, wedding party members discharged firearms during the celebrations, according to the report.
In the latest incident this summer, a 27-year-old man was fined 50,000 rubles ($750) for shooting his handgun outside a local wedding-registry office, TASS reported. A court also ordered the man's gun confiscated, Rechitsky was quoted as saying.
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