Putin Cracks Down on Car Sirens Used by Officials

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday slashed by almost a half the number of officials allowed to use car sires, in what appears to be an effort to quell public anger over the misuse of blue flashing lights on the country's roads, RIA repors.

According to a decree posted on the Kremlin's website, the number of vehicles with "migalki," as the lights are known, will be reduced to 569 from just over1,000 currently by June 1.

There has been rising public anger over the migalki, which have come to epitomize the impunity afforded to businessmen and state officials who use them to bypass traffic rules.