Cardon Man
Super Nomad
Posts: 1319
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: Thetis Bank
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Mood: !Al Chingaso!
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?How to handle la mordida?
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.
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bajaloco
Nomad
Posts: 159
Registered: 12-5-2002
Location: Huntington Beach, California
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Mood: wishin I was fishin
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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
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elgatoloco
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4332
Registered: 11-19-2002
Location: Yes
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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. 
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
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
Member Is Offline
Mood: muy amable
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Speed advice
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!!
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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Simply ask for your ticket and pay it.
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Debra
Super Nomad
Posts: 2101
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Port Orchard Wa./Bahia de Los Angeles BC
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Hey JESSE?
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.
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elgatoloco
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4332
Registered: 11-19-2002
Location: Yes
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| 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! 
Oh well, I suppose I 'll keep trying. 
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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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. 
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.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
Posts: N/A
Registered: N/A
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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.
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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| 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?
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. |
It will work wonders Debra, that is a good thing to use.
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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| 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!
Oh well, I suppose I 'll keep trying. |
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.
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
Registered: 11-5-2002
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| 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.
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That all depends on what you drive. I have a Mexican plated pizzachit that NEVER gets stopped.
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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A Ticket??
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.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Les
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: 9-30-2003
Member Is Offline
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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.
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
Member Is Offline
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Does anyone have phone numbers
for Sindicatura in areas of central and southern Baja? Or know of a site where I can find them? Gracias.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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El Jefe
Super Nomad
Posts: 1027
Registered: 10-27-2003
Location: South East Cape
Member Is Offline
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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.
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
Member Is Offline
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Highway Partol
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.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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