Mordida in Hermosillo

I just shake my head at this stuff, especially the post about too much corruption so they wish the best to those who still visit Mexico.....geez louis....probably speeding, shouldn't have paid the cops should have gone to the police station.......omg! Living here almost 12 years and I still have not experienced what the people come up with.

For the Americans travelling in Mexico, remember that the speeds are in KILOMETERS per hour and not MILES I have both in the toad but not the RV so using white paint I added the marks and numbers of the kilometers to the plastic , and it is visible at night best speeds to travel 55 MPH on highway and no more than 35 mph crossing towns on the side of road and definitly 25 or 20 mph when you are going through the middle of the town or slower, remember the beloved topes , slow down take your time there is not rat race you are in the land of mañana.

Mañana sera otro dia!

navegator

The state of Baja California, has an aggressive Tourism Attorney. They had jailed predatory Ensenada traffic cops years ago and the transitos stopped focusing on foreigners.

It may be of interest to note that in many Mexican cities, all passengers in a vehicle (your toad) must wear seat belts or the driver faces a six hundred peso (minimum) for each unbelted passenger.

The State office For Protection of Tourists, is located on the waterfront road, the malecon in Ensenada. They insist on the complainant furnishing, date, time, place, license plate or badge number. The office staff speaks extremely fluent English.

About three months ago a hysterically funny incident occurred with a pair of cops in Lazaro Cardenas* Baja California. The policia municipio stopped Canadian tourists "For Driving With Their Headlights On".

Outrageous. What the stupes did not realize was a Canadian lady was recording video and audio in high definition from the car and recorded the cops demanding (I forgot the amount but it was absurd). Yup, the State Office of Protection for Tourists saw the whole thing live and in color. The cops went to state prison. It made the Zeta newspaper, and others followed suit.

*The twin city of San Quintin

A few years ago, there was an outfit called the Sindicato that was cracking down on police corruption -- we were told that we could call them if there was a problem.

When we were pulled over in San Quentin for an imaginary infraction, the policeman told me that the whole thing could be solved if I paid the fine to him on the spot. I speak fairly fluent Spanish -- I asked the policeman if he could call the Sindicato on his radio for me. He immediately waved us on.

I have not heard anything more about this Sindicato, so maybe it is no longer in operation?

Or it could also be that there was never any such thing as the Sindicato, and he was so confused by my bizarre question that he decided it would be too much trouble to deal with a crazy person. ;)

"Vamanos a la commandancia" works. So does

me puede recomendar un parque para casarodantes? Esto puede llevar varios días esperando al juez.

Print the above paragraph in neat block letters on a postcard and keep it within reach.


Tip. The newest trick is for the cops to get angry and try and lead someone to get lost. I simply pull over. Trust my judgement here - they will give up. A tourist jailed for a non-accident becomes a big deal with the state then with the feds. And yes, Mexico has medical tests to determine if marijuana or opioids were used in the weeks prior. The cops know this going in and it becomes a BS game. 53 years, never had a cop win one single time. $0.00 mordida. One legitimate bust downtown Lazaro Cardenas for moving a pickup 50' without a seatbelt. The sergeant had me cold. I paid the fine at the office.

We learned about mordida back in the late 80's and haven't been back to Mexico since. Too much corruption for our tastes. Best of luck to those who continue to visit Mexico.

Over the years there has been problems with the Municipal traffic cops. especially at the south end of HMO on that bypass. It is hard to do but you must stand your ground. Even take a photo of the cops. Tell him you want to see the chief of police. There is no place to park an RV at the police station or the court house. They will just give up. Never speak Spanish! If you have a car number or names I would contact Sonora Tourism. They do not carry breathalyzers so cannot charge you with a DUI. You can demand to see the radar gun. But sometimes it is stuck on a high speed! The last time I was involved the poster sent me a photo of the cop. I sent it to my contact @ Sonora tourism ( alas he died a few years ago) and the cop was fired. He cried that he was a family man and they suspended him for awhile. If it happens at night sometimes the district chief is part of the scam. But during the day it is just the 2 creeps. Very frustrating. I hope your friend gets over his experience.

Moisheh

We think we saw your friends come in to Totonaka last night.

It's very unfortunate that this happened, and hopefully won't happen to them again.

Unfortunately, except for when the toll roads/highways/freeways are marked 110km, it is easy to speed. The speed limits are very low and no one drives at that speed. Leaving Hermosillo going south, the speed limit currently doesn't go over 80 because of the construction until you get fairly close to Guaymas, and most of it is 60.

North of Hermosillo the road is outstanding and it is very easy to exceed 110. In Hermosillo proper, the speed limit is 40 to 60.

We are all encouraged never to pay mordida. Tickets in Mexico are cheap. However, usually most of us are in a hurry, are hot and tired, and don't want to deal with going downtown to the police station to pay to get our drivers license back. We should probably get over it, that is the only way to stop this process. Just say, "Give me the ticket." Most of the time you will probably be sent on your way with an angry look.

Then of course is the language barrier. Yes, we have had similar incidents twice, both were set ups, and we made the wrong choice, we paid. We should have just asked for the ticket. In both cases we have no doubt that if we had asked for the ticket, we would have been sent on our way.

Does this make his "ticket" right? No. Is there anything that can be done about it? The margaritas were a good idea. Try to keep your sense of humor and continue with your vacation.