President Vladimir Putin is clamping down on top Russian officials who speed around Moscow with flashing lights and break traffic rules with impunity.

Mr Putin signed a decree, published on Kremlin website www.kremlin.ru, that seeks to improve road safety by cutting the number of officials who can evade traffic rules.

Russian officials infuriate most drivers by zooming around the country in expensive cars with special number plates and flashing blue lights, known as a migalki, on their roofs.

Gliding through traffic jams and overtaking into oncoming traffic, official drivers sound aggressive horns and often have a sports utility vehicle full of armed guards for extra impact.

Traffic police rarely dare to challenge drivers brandishing such political influence, while the appalling driving of many official cars has made the flashing blue lights, the migalki, a grating symbol of official privilege.

But now senior officials say they are trying to curb dangerous driving on the country's roads, where more than 35,000 people die each year.

Mr Putin's decree, which takes effect from its publication, cuts the number of cars with migalki and special horns to 1,000 from 7,500 from November 1. The decree also cuts the number of special number plates from February.

"The overall number (of cars with special signals) must not exceed 1,000, with the exclusion of those vehicles that support people involved in the defence of the state," the decree said.

Some analysts say the attack on officials' road privileges, supported by the pro-Putin United Russia party, is a vote winner ahead of parliamentary elections in 2007 and presidential elections a year later, when Mr Putin says he will step down. Reuters