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Pole Badly Beaten for Not Yielding to Car

Drivers who refuse to yield to pedestrians on crosswalks can be fined 1,000 rubles, up from 100 rubles before. �� Igor Tabakov
A Polish television journalist was brutally assaulted in southwestern Moscow after he refused to yield to a car while crossing the street in a crosswalk.

Andrzej Zaucha, a journalist with the Polish television network TVN, was crossing the street at a crosswalk on Nakhimovsky Prospekt at about 9 p.m. Sunday when he was almost struck by a passing car, a police source told Interfax on Monday.

Three men then jumped out of the car and "started screaming and beating me in my face," Zaucha was quoted as saying by Polskie Radio. "I fell down and was unable stand up again."

Zaucha was hospitalized with a broken cheekbone and a concussion, Polskie Radio reported on its web site.

Zaucha's wife reported the attack to police, saying the assailants fled the scene in a dark-colored imported car, the police source told Interfax.

Neither Zaucha nor his wife could be reached for comment Monday.

The attack came just a day after a new law came into effect stiffening fines for drivers who refuse to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.

Under the new law, drivers caught zipping through crosswalks and not yielding to pedestrians — a common practice in Moscow — can be fined up to 1,000 rubles ($32).

The previous fine was 100 rubles.

The new fines were backed by lawmakers last year in an attempt to rein in drivers' rampant disregard for pedestrians' right of way.

Road safety advocacy groups said that while increased fines are welcome, the key to saving lives is improving Russia's driving culture, which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has publicly described as "extremely low."

Moscow police spokeswoman Zhanna Ozhimina told Vesti-24 television that police were looking into the attack on Zaucha.

"Unfortunately, there was no video surveillance at the scene of the crime, but we are investigating the situation," Ozhimina told Vesti.

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