Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3507
Registered: 8-27-2003
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Interesting interaction with Policia in Mexicali
Rolled into Mexicali about 8:00pm a few nights ago and got caught in the left lanes when I should have been in the right coming into one of those "V"
intersections and ended up on the wrong street. No problem, went to the next break in the median island and started a U-turn when I got lit up by a
cop on a motor cycle.
Pull over and said I made an illegal u-turn and asked to see my license. Looked at it and asked if I had a job. Huh? I lied and said I was retired
and he looked a little chest-fallen. He said to follow him to the police station and I said OK. He then asked where I was going ad I gave him the name
of the Hotel and I pointed to the other street and he nodded his head.
He then asked "Pay me?". I shook my head and said I would go to the station to pay. He handed me back my license, told me just how to get to the
hotel and said to make sure I use my blinkers, got on his bike and sped off.
His demeanor the whole time was very polite, almost meek.
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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I asked a ? here a few days back about the LEGALITY
of turning right on a red lite, a poster sited a site
or 2, stating it is generally not legal, a Rosarito Beach
law was sited. Not that it would be enforced that way.
When I drive in Mex, I'm way cautious re: U turns, etc.,
I go out of my way not to draw attention
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8942
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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I try not to attract attention, but attention follows me and throughout Mexicali. I will remember the, "No, I'm retired" line.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Unless marked otherwise, or obviously a completely stupid maneuver making a right on a red light is legal all over the peninsula. U-turns are iffy. In
a strange town I don't take a chance and will go the block. On boulevards with frontage streets it is very chancy to even make a left never mind a
u-turn. The frontage streets are called "paralelos" On a boulevard with paralelos I look for a desigated left turn lane.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9009
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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The Christmas decorations have hit the stores. The beat cop's have been shopping with their families and the kiddies have been pointing to the toys;
pleading with dad.
It's as predictable as spring.
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
making a right on a red light is legal all over the peninsula |
Not saying this is a legal form re: Traffic Laws, but
in this author opinion he disputes your position on
the LEGALITY of turning right on a red, at least in
Rosarito Beach, scroll down to General Legal Info
http://www.rosaritoinfo.com/legal.htm
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dasubergeek
Senior Nomad
Posts: 694
Registered: 8-17-2013
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Santiago
Rolled into Mexicali about 8:00pm a few nights ago and got caught in the left lanes when I should have been in the right coming into one of those "V"
intersections and ended up on the wrong street. No problem, went to the next break in the median island and started a U-turn when I got lit up by a
cop on a motor cycle.
Pull over and said I made an illegal u-turn and asked to see my license. Looked at it and asked if I had a job. Huh? I lied and said I was retired
and he looked a little chest-fallen. He said to follow him to the police station and I said OK. He then asked where I was going ad I gave him the name
of the Hotel and I pointed to the other street and he nodded his head.
He then asked "Pay me?". I shook my head and said I would go to the station to pay. He handed me back my license, told me just how to get to the
hotel and said to make sure I use my blinkers, got on his bike and sped off.
His demeanor the whole time was very polite, almost meek. |
The job thing is because traffic fines in Baja California are based on number of days of minimum wage for the various wage classes. Speeding is, if I
remember right, 3 days. The last time I got pulled he asked what I did; I mistranslated and told him I was a jornalero. He chuckled and let
me go.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Ah C'mon, all you have to do is ask a PFP. Baja California's traffic laws are based on the same laws as seen in the state of Jalisco (the
cornerstone). When I write stuff like the red light thing, it is after I had talked with dozens of cops all over Mexico including both states of Baja
California. The author is wrong and anyone here in Mexico including you when you get here next time can ask a cop about it.
If Rosarito had a law, that prohibited right turn on red, they would by state law have to post signs at each intersection declaring "NO VUELTA CON LUZ
ROJO" or the international type sign. A cop can tell you the part in your hair is in direct violation of the municipal code and the multa is 500
pesos. or you can pay him 300 pesos now and not have to go to the station. Just before Christmas 1994 I had a PFP stop me near the power plant on Mex
1-D and tell me my 30' tow trailer was "Too Long For Mexico". Yeah they subsequently fired all the federal cops and replaced them with less crooked
ones. What did I do? Well I "Had To" find the registration in the trailer for him. So he stood outside and froze while I was inside (on the shoulder
of the cuota) eating a sandwich. Ten minutes later I exited with the registration but he was gone. As I pulled away laughing, I saw him parked behind
a Mexican motorist up the road a quarter mile. Somehow he had to find a way to pay for all the Christmas presents, for his family as well as for his
chica.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
The author is wrong and anyone here in Mexico including you when you get here next time can ask a cop about it.
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Calm down, a bit touchy aren't we? For the record the
article says turning right on a red lite is GENERALLY
ILLEGAL IN ALL OF MEX
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mulegemichael
Super Nomad
Posts: 2310
Registered: 12-24-2007
Location: sequim,wa. and mulege
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Mood: up on step
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well....hmmmm....the LAST time i was stopped by a cop in tecate, he explained he had stopped me for NOT turning right on a red light after i
stopped....i mean, how cheesy is that???!!...he went away with his tail between his legs after i chewed his ass about public safety and being
cognizant of the people he's paid to protect...
dyslexia is never having to say you\'re yrros.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Mexico!
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tlalocs
Banned
Posts: 9
Registered: 10-29-2013
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Santiago
He then asked "Pay me?". I shook my head and said I would go to the station to pay. He handed me back my license, told me just how to get to the
hotel and said to make sure I use my blinkers, got on his bike and sped off.
His demeanor the whole time was very polite, almost meek. |
Be easy on him, he's still in training. He'll get it right the next time.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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The way you took my reply Sancho was not the way I intended. There is so much "mis-information" circulating around that it isn't funny. And when a
person starts pinning people's ears back to see how "they" (in this case the author of that article) came up with a ridiculous claim you'll find they
really did not ask a real cop. They did not actually look in the traffic law book. They took another gringo's opinion and turned it into fact. in some
cases people just "make up things" out of thin air because it makes good copy.
Jeesus people are so gullible...
Someone says the moon is made out of Mexican cheese and pretty soon Speedy Gonzales sold someone a hunk of genuine moon cheese.
I can relate my experience with transitos: They may lie their asss off about the law if they stop someone, but almost invariably can quote Mexican
traffic laws out of memory. Highway Patrolmen are better educated. I've not remember any of the "new breed" of PFP giving me wrong information. They
do interpret DUI a little differently officer to officer.
By making a statement about seatbelt laws on this forum several months ago a kind Nomad informed me that seatbelt laws in some cities have changed and
now all passengers must be buckled up.
But Rosarito or Ocozocuautla cannot violate the nationwide protocol of how traffic laws are constructed. That changed some 20 years ago after DF
allowed Jalisco to set the standard for traffic laws (like the need for insurance).
Here's something I'll throw out to for chewing on...
ANYWHERE in Mexico if you should stop to make a left turn and a trailing car smashes into you IT IS YOUR FAULT. Turn Signals don't matter. What DOES
matter is yes or no, was there was enough room on your side of the highway for YOU to pull off and let following traffic pass safely so after
everything is clear and safe you can make a left turn? This is a screwball law and you can bet your last peso it will be enforced if you get rear
ended and you are deemed to be in the wrong.
If a road is narrow and you cannot safely pull off onto the shoulder then the guy behind you is at fault.
This is NATIONAL code that all 31 states follow.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Wow, David, I sure never knew about THAT law!!!! bummer!!!!
thanks.
barry
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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I consider it to be a real pain. Every time I go to make a left off the highway, I have to scout ahead and see if the shoulder can support my driving
on it, then look in the rear view mirror to make sure NO ONE is even close behind me. On the mainland, on two lane highways the left turn lane is
along the RIGHT shoulder and it is marked. Go onto the shoulder, stop at the stop sign, then when it is clear, turn across all lanes of traffic.
In towns like Constitucion, and Vizcaino, it is illegal to make a left off the main blvd (Mex 1) unless there is a dedicated left turn lane. Last
month I asked a Mulege Municipio transito why they allowed drivers to make a left at "Cuatro Altos" the 4-way stop signs "Oh yes, it is illegal said
the cop" but we let people get away with it unless there is too much traffic".
Dogleg onto the paralelo (frontage) street, go down to the NEXT signed intersection, wait for the light or when traffic is clear (safe to turn) then
make a left or u-turn. This can get hairy. Making a left with the traffic parallel on the main highway to your left can be dangerous as hell if some
macho is doing 90 in a 30 zone.
Yeah the left turn thing caught me flat footed. I drove for decades without knowing it. Sigh.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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dasubergeek
Senior Nomad
Posts: 694
Registered: 8-17-2013
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
I consider it to be a real pain. Every time I go to make a left off the highway, I have to scout ahead and see if the shoulder can support my driving
on it, then look in the rear view mirror to make sure NO ONE is even close behind me. On the mainland, on two lane highways the left turn lane is
along the RIGHT shoulder and it is marked. Go onto the shoulder, stop at the stop sign, then when it is clear, turn across all lanes of traffic.
In towns like Constitucion, and Vizcaino, it is illegal to make a left off the main blvd (Mex 1) unless there is a dedicated left turn lane. Last
month I asked a Mulege Municipio transito why they allowed drivers to make a left at "Cuatro Altos" the 4-way stop signs "Oh yes, it is illegal said
the cop" but we let people get away with it unless there is too much traffic".
Dogleg onto the paralelo (frontage) street, go down to the NEXT signed intersection, wait for the light or when traffic is clear (safe to turn) then
make a left or u-turn. This can get hairy. Making a left with the traffic parallel on the main highway to your left can be dangerous as hell if some
macho is doing 90 in a 30 zone.
Yeah the left turn thing caught me flat footed. I drove for decades without knowing it. Sigh. |
Yeah, I got my butt chewed by the cops between San Antonio and Francisco Zarco for that... you have to pull to the right, then turn left across the
entire roadbed. He also told me that if I needed to U-turn the correct way was to pull right, U-turn onto the opposite shoulder, then re-join the
road. I nodded and thanked him for his courtesy in not ticketing me.
It's not any more bizarre than the French law about priority from the right.
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