The Russian Emergencies Minister's driver was punished on Sunday after a video appeared on the Internet of him abusing another driver for not letting him past on the Moscow ring road, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said.
The video shows a the driver using the car's blue flashing light, used by officials to bypass traffic, despite the fact that he is alone in the car. When another car refuses to let him pass, he shouts abuse at him through the car's loud speaker.
"When the incident took place, only the driver was in the car," the spokeswoman said. "There was no need for the driver to hurry. He has been punished for misbehavior."
She did not specify how the driver had been disciplined.
The misuse of government vehicles is a source of much public anger. A growing protest movement calls for the government to ban flashing blue lights.
Presidential Administration head Vladimir Kozhin said at the end of April that over 900 officials drive cars with flashing blue lights in Moscow.
MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti)
