Herman Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 If I get pulled over in Mexico for say speeding or no seatbelt, how does that work? Do I get a ticket and pay a fine at a later date? Does the officer collect the fine? Does officer as for a bribe and I pay and leave? Go to jail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camillenparadise Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Don't speed and always wear a seatbelt, and you will have no problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 You get a ticket that you can pay at a local office with 50% discount within 10 days. If the officer asks for a mordida, DON'T pay. The ticket will be cheaper than the mordida anyway. Insist on a ticket or you will leave the scene. They usually back down and you can leave. BUT, if you have committed an infraction, don't argue, just accept the ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudgirl Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 In some places they will take your drivers license. Don't be freaked out about this- it's how they insure that you will pay the ticket. Your license will be returned when you pay. In the meantime, the infraction paper will serve in case you are stopped again and asked to show your license. I also don't agree with paying mordida and have only done it once in 16 years- I was in a hurry, on my way to the city with a list a mile long and giving the guy 200 pesos was just more expedient for me. But I was disappointed in myself 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragtopman Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Traffic laws in Mexico are basically 'recommendations' but use common sense, take the ticket if you get pulled over and DO NOT pay a 'mordida' and if your asked to pay a mordida take a picture of the officer get his name badge number etc etc and more than likely they will let you go if indeed you were being shook down for a mordida and then most cop shops would like to know if they have corrupt cops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 7 hours ago, ragtopman said: Traffic laws in Mexico are basically 'recommendations' but use common sense, take the ticket if you get pulled over and DO NOT pay a 'mordida' and if your asked to pay a mordida take a picture of the officer get his name badge number etc etc and more than likely they will let you go if indeed you were being shook down for a mordida and then most cop shops would like to know if they have corrupt cops. Best be real careful taking that picture you suggest. That phone camera just might be taken away from you, broken or you even might have it force fed to you. You're not in Kansas anymore, don't think you can do what you could back there. Be careful what you do, I'm sure you have read about the appalling numbers of homicides here in Mexico. It's no joke and not to be trifled with. Smile and use your best Spanish and be happy when you are free to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryB Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 don't take pictures. If the officer does not display his ID you are being shaken down. Ask to see ID, copy it and copy vehicle plates. Ask for the folio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floradude Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 It was my understanding that in Jalisco the police were not allowed to take your drivers license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 What the police are allowed to do, and what they actually do, are two different things. But they won't tow your vehicle unless you have truly earned it by your infraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 41 minutes ago, Yo1 said: What the police are allowed to do, and what they actually do, are two different things. But they won't tow your vehicle unless you have truly earned it by your infraction. Tell that to the local RE agent whose car was towed while she was on her way back from Guadalajara. She told us the story and admitted she used some colorful language on the officer that she shouldn't have. She was left on the side of the road without her vehicle and she said it was expensive to get it out of impound. Foreigners have no idea what the police can and cannot do. You can quote rules and laws until you're blue in the face. It would make a great YouTube video of some gringo telling a policeman "It's my understanding you can't xxxxx". If he understands English his laughter would make it even more entertaining. Watch what you say and do in Mexico and chances are you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha1 Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Floradude said: It was my understanding that in Jalisco the police were not allowed to take your drivers license. And Santa comes at Christmas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibarra Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Yo1 said: What the police are allowed to do, and what they actually do, are two different things. But they won't tow your vehicle unless you have truly earned it by your infraction. They WILL tow your car. I friend of mine had her car towed from in front of Cafe Negro. She was parked where the curb is painted yellow. Came out and saw the police, said she would move her car as she did not realize it was a no parking zone. She asked for a ticket, but the officer would not give her one. The tow truck had already been called. Her car was impounded. She was later told (when she picked up her car from the impound lot), that the tow truck was waiting nearby for possible violations in the area and that the police were told NOT to issue tickets, but to just tow the vehicles. She was 82 years old. Did she "earn the infraction"? I have not personally looked at the curb to see if it is actually in front of the cafe or on the side street. She has died and I am unable to ask further questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquaponicsman Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 In Acapulco a cop pulled me over and said I had run a red light six blocks back (total fabrication) and showed me a card-deck sized wad of driver's licenses he had already confiscated that day. I was driving a new car with South Dakota license plates and was on my way back to my very expensive hotel. He pulled me over right at the entrance, where he was parked outside waiting for targets going to or from that hotel. I vehemently oppose paying mordidos, but I paid this bandito a $500 peso mordido, as I had 10 minutes before checkout time and another day hotel cost would have been a lot more expensive (on a credit card which I could not stop them from charging if they were jerks about the check-out time.) Plus, it was a Sunday and I was driving back to Ajijc as soon as I checked out, so I did not have time to go to the municipal and pay a ticket, nor get my driver's license back. Having to replace a drver's license that they took from me in Acapulco would have been quite suckful. (As in full of suck.) Lakeside, it would have been a different story. Some traffic infractions are political priority stops like driving without a seat-belt and driving while talking on a cell phone. The politicians have jumped all over the bandwagon on those two infractions. Drunk driving (be real careful here, the BAC level for arrest is extremely low... as in having drunk one beer can get you jailed) and if you have a Mexican plated car, make sure you have your current stickers displayed and make sure you license plate is not obstructed. And Lakeside, never turn left without a green arrow at the Careterra and the Libramiento! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Parking in front of a driveway or in the yellow zone is a tow-able offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dalziel Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 No photographs -- In Ajijic I saw a man on the sidewalk holding his smart phone rather high out in front of him talking into the speakerphone. When a police truck drove by the officers jumped out immediately to question him, assuming, incorrectly, that he was taking their picture. I don't know what the law is, but attempting to photograph the police in Mexico can lead to trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 The best policy is to keep your cool regardless of whether you're right or wrong and remember that the officer has ALL the power here.Above all, don't be a smartass. Paying mordida is a bad idea, but I can understand that Aquaponicsman had a good reason to do so. As for parking where there are yellow lines or in front of garages...don't do that. I live on a busy residential street and am appalled at the inconsiderate people who block driveways. One guy has a picture of a tow truck on his garage door along with the usual words. It seems to be an equal opportunity offense committed by both expats and visitors from Guadalajara on busy weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 My husband doesn't get out much and it is extremely difficult for him to walk, so I got the necessary documents and permits from the state and Chapala to have a restricted parking place in front of our house...read $$$. This area is defined explicitly by the permit given....yellow lines painted with a specific paint, certain dimensions, etc. The ones who are the worst offenders are the foreign drivers, although we do sometimes have a local park there if I am out on an errand or in class, while they go to the mercado or lunch! I guess my rant would be that if you want to live somewhere other than your home country...PLEASE-PLEASE...learn the local laws as well as common courtesies practiced in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuphel Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Six trips from the border and back, and several winters Lakeside, and we've been stopped perhaps 6 times. Four times we got away with a warning (once with some heavy hints for mordida, which we pretended not to understand and insisted on the ticket, with lots of protestations of regret for whatever the infraction was) and two times we got well-deserved tickets. Paid promptly in the legal way, and went about our lives. Mostly, just accept the cop's judgment and insist on a ticket if s/he doesn't appear to want to let you off with a warning. If s/he talks about all the hassles to you in paying tickets, and that it can be settled at the curb, just keep saying you'll take the ticket. S/he'll either give up or give you the ticket. If you pay it within 7(?) days, it's 1/2 the fine. Seldom is the infraction more than the mordida (bribe) would be, and you keep everything honest and the wheels of justice roll on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfa Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 What is critical in this issue, and seems to have been ignored, is what plates does the car he is driving carry. It seems every one assumed he was with foreign plates. Locals do get stopped too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Only VIAL or Federal can stop you for traffic infractions. Since 2010 we have had Mex plated cars and never stopped here. Did get stopped for speeding in Bucerias and they took my rear license plate. Had to go to the transito office the next morning to pay fine and get my plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 7 minutes ago, Alfa said: What is critical in this issue, and seems to have been ignored, is what plates does the car he is driving carry. It seems every one assumed he was with foreign plates. Locals do get stopped too. Cops tended to follow our car, hoping to see something out of order, when we had CA plates. Once we were driving a car with Jalisco plates, they've ignored us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 If you get a ticket outside of your home state, you must pay the ticket right away in the state where you got the ticket. It's not the same as in the US where you mail the fine in to the authorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Berca Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Jalisco plates was the answer for me, too. After over 10 years of driving with US plates and being pulled over for nothing, other than one ticket I did deserve, and three to four stops a month I bought a Jalisco plated vehicle 3.5 years ago and have never been pulled over for anything. Don't ever believe that "certain" cops are not on the look out for foreign plates because they expect the driver to be a newbie or tourist, scared to death because they don't know the rules of the road and be an easy mark for extortion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanMexicali Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 2 hours ago, tomgates said: Only VIAL or Federal can stop you for traffic infractions. Since 2010 we have had Mex plated cars and never stopped here. Did get stopped for speeding in Bucerias and they took my rear license plate. Had to go to the transito office the next morning to pay fine and get my plate. That might be true in some states and some cities but not true in the states of Baja and San Luis Potosi. There municipal and state police have the authority to ticket traffic offenders. Ask people who were stopped by the SLP state police for traffic offences on the MX. 57D southern bypass in the more than ridiculas slow speed limit (50 klm./hr) by the industrial parks on that cuota where the highway is wide open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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