BajaNomad - ?How to handle la mordida?

?How to handle la mordida?

Cardon Man - 5-7-2004 at 09:14 AM

I've driven the peninsula numerous times but only recently have i experienced the dreaded "Mordida". While rolling thru La Paz "the man" pulled me over for basicly no reason and commenced to fine me for going thru a red light ( never happened ) and also for not having a front license plate ( not required in my home state ). Delirious from a long day of Baja driving I was coerced into paying a hefty mordida on the spot. I'll be headed home soon and will doing my first solo drive of the peninsula. This time i want to be prepared if those so-called cops try to rob me again. So, what is the proper way to handle such a situation? Go to the police station? Raise hell on the side of the road? I'd be interested to hear what you fellow Nomads have to say about the subject. :?:

bajaloco - 5-7-2004 at 04:32 PM

Last summer we were stopped in La paz, going south just past the by-pass. The road was under construction and we were driving very slowly on the far right lane and was pulled over for speeding, which we were not. The "officer" said that I could pay the fine on the spot, but I insisted to see the judge...He pretended to call someone on his cell phone, held a fake conversation, then looked at me and said your free to leave and he took off....DO NOT PAY MORDIDA.....Do not break the laws....You cause problems for everyone... The fine you pay to the judge is usually much less than to the policeman...also watch your speed, there are radar guns everywhere

elgatoloco - 5-7-2004 at 04:57 PM

First allow an extra day for the trip home, then you will not feel compelled to succumb to the primal urge to just get it over and get on. Plus you will arrive home in a better state of mind. :saint:

When I am confronted with an officer who wants to handle it on the spot I tell him no thank you , write me a ticket and I will spend as much of my time as necessary to conform to ALL the laws of the wonderful Republica de Mexico.

October 2003 I got caught going down a one way street in La Paz the wrong way. The fine cost me $11.60 US and took about 35 minutes to handle at the police/courthouse building.

I have now been pulled over 6 times in the last 3 years and recieved only the one ticket for an obvious violation. The last time I was pulled over (this last Wednesday) I WAS speeding (radar) but I did not get written up. I will not be intimidated by a cop who does not play by the rules. I do reserve the right to adjust my actions based on the particular situation. Life is fluid, to this point I have been able to keep my hard earned money, but you never know.

One other thing, every time you get pulled over it gets easier!

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=3336

Speed advice

thebajarunner - 5-7-2004 at 05:16 PM

Matt, spot on, as usual.
Your advice should be followed by everyone, then things would get a lot better down there.
The only thing I would add, get a good Cincinnati Microwave detector and you will not give them the opportunity to show you a large number, they still may stop you but you will be warned in time to get your cruise speed under check.

Baja Arriba!!

JESSE - 5-7-2004 at 06:05 PM

Simply ask for your ticket and pay it.

Hey JESSE?

Debra - 5-8-2004 at 03:03 PM

I've never been stopped, but, I just had a thought.....

'Howsabot' if I just start crying? What do you think their reaction would be?

Really, I'm all for paying the ticket (to the court) if I'm in the wrong....but, I agree if not and folks pay the cop, it just makes things worse.

Write down on a card and keep it handy in your glove-box "sindicatura" and show it to the officer, or it's pronounced "seen-dee-kah-too-ra"
I'm told that this works wonders....it tells him that you want to go to the Judge.

elgatoloco - 5-9-2004 at 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JESSE
Simply ask for your ticket and pay it.

I always ask it's just that most times they wont give me one to pay! :no:

Oh well, I suppose I 'll keep trying. :biggrin:

Roberto - 5-9-2004 at 09:28 PM

I have been stopped many times in Baja. Sometimes for legitimate infractions, and sometimes for trumped up ones. My idea is simple - if I have commited an infraction, I should be fined and pay it. But, I will only do so legitimately. For some reason, I have yet to find a cop who is willing to go to the station and pay following procedure. They always want to resolve the issue on the spot, something I am not willing to do. I don't understand it, but when they figure out that I am NOT going to pay on the spot, no matter how much time that is going to cost me (including weekends), they let me go. :lol:

And THAT, it what makes these guys scumbags. They are not interested in enforcing the law, they are only interested in pocketing money. And if you think they reserve this behavior for gringo tourists, think again - they are even worse on their own. Makes me wanna puke.

Anonymous - 5-10-2004 at 08:20 AM

I was pulled over once for a stop sign that wasnt even there.
After all the bs I remembered an old worthless ring my daughter had left in my glove box. I think it was worth .50. Boy was that cop happy to get his hands on such a NICE piece. I'lb bet his girlfriend was peeed after she showed it off around town.

JESSE - 5-10-2004 at 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Debra
I've never been stopped, but, I just had a thought.....

'Howsabot' if I just start crying? What do you think their reaction would be?

It will work wonders Debra, that is a good thing to use.

JESSE - 5-10-2004 at 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by elgatoloco

Quote:

Originally posted by JESSE
Simply ask for your ticket and pay it.

I always ask it's just that most times they wont give me one to pay! :no:

Oh well, I suppose I 'll keep trying. :biggrin:

Simply ask for your ticket, if he refuses, tell him you where told by a REGIDOR ( council man) to go to SINDICATURA to file a complain if they wont to give you a ticket, that will take care of the problem pronto.

Dave - 5-10-2004 at 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roberto
And if you think they reserve this behavior for gringo tourists, think again - they are even worse on their own. Makes me wanna puke.

That all depends on what you drive. I have a Mexican plated pizzachit that NEVER gets stopped. :biggrin:

A Ticket??

bajalou - 5-13-2004 at 09:00 PM

Well, today I thought I'd find out how I would handle Mordida. While cruising north on Mex 5 near Rio Hardy at my usual 60 mph or so, I saw a Federal Highway Patrol coming toward me. A couple miles farther up the highway, looked in the mirror and saw the flashing lights of the same patrolman. Was he trying to pass or did he want me to stop? When I found a wider spot I pulled over and looked back. He was pulling another car over and telling them to park behind me. (The other car had new BC plates) He walked to the other car and got the drivers license and registration, holding it in his hand aprroached me. Asked for my drivers license and told me I was going 55 mph and the speed limit was 35 mph. I said "O, at the curves" with my hands as I didn't know the words, Si. Handed back my Dr license and asked for registration. I got it and handed it to him. He studied it for a few seconds, handed it back and told (motioned also) for me to go. I left. Looked back and he had the other driver out and they were looking at the license plates on that car. Now I dnn't know for sure, but I think I would have asked for the ticket and followed to the judge rather than paying mordida. As usual, I was speeding and deserved the ticket, so am grateful that I only got a warning.

:saint:

Les - 5-14-2004 at 07:23 AM

Taped to the back of my drivers license I have a small piece of paper that says
SINDICATURA del GOBIERNO MUNICIPAL
TIJUANA 683-4095
ENSENADA 617-1561
When pulled over in TJ this past January, I handed the license to the cop as I told him I wasn't speeding. He started with his spiel and stopped in mid sentence as he turned over my license and read what was on the back . He then told me I could go.
Sindicatura ,I believe, is like our Internal Affairs for Cops.

Does anyone have phone numbers

Natalie Ann - 5-14-2004 at 07:59 AM

for Sindicatura in areas of central and southern Baja? Or know of a site where I can find them? Gracias.

El Jefe - 5-15-2004 at 12:25 PM

Sadly it seems to have become the rule rather than the exception for us to get pulled over for nothing in La Paz after picking up our trailer in the storage yard and trying to make it out of town. It happened on our last trip about 15 days ago.
I won't give the bastards a nickle. I give them a hard stare in the eye and tell them right away that if they want money from me they have the wrong guy. I do this with respect and in a businesslike tone with half a smile so as not to totally pee them off. I just like to set my ground rules right away. Then I play real stupid and wait them out. They give up and leave every time. This is the way I handle the local cops. The highway patrol seem to be more professional, and although I have not been pulled over by them yet I've heard that they will usually issue warnings to tourists that have only done minor violations like being over the speed limit by a little. They don't seem to be in the mordida business like the locals. Even with them I would ask for the ticket and follow to the station. I would be interested to hear more experiences with the highway patrol.
By the way, we had a great trip to the south-east cape where we bought a small home lot with surf spot view. Ya-hoo!!! One more year at work and I'm outta there...off to the good life (as if I don't have it already). This year's project will be building our little house.
About 13 miles west of us in San Jose Del Cabo the new development is simply going off. The new marina at La Playita is a big hole in the ground with heavy equipment working non-stop. Two golf courses and lots of high end home sites (have a million dollars handy?) will complete the project. The project takes up three miles of coast line from the estuary out towards the east cape. You can get lost on the new roads out there. There is a partially paved (about three miles of it) new road away from the coast that goes all the way to Zacatitos. Progress... We are glad to be further out the dirt road...keeps out the riff-raff. The surf was excellent, with lots of rental cars bombing the washboard out to the better spots. The crowd was spread out so not too bad.

Highway Partol

bajalou - 5-15-2004 at 03:39 PM

This was my 3rd time being stopped by the Highway Patrol. The first two were for "no taillight" - had blown a fuse on my VW first then on my Bronco. Once near San Felipe and second just outside La Paz. Both of those times they gave me a quite "Sniff test" and as I had not been drinking and they told me to get it fixed asap and that was the end of it.

:biggrin: