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kiterkip
Nomad
Posts: 139
Registered: 10-17-2010
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Cd Constitution... Same Old Bullchit
Well, If anyone within the sound of my voice has not heard this yet...AVOID CIUDAD CONSTITUTION at all costs. If you must drive through town, stop at
EVERY 4-way stop, go slow as hell... and plan on being stopped anyway. Yesterday we stopped for coffee at the latte shop on the main drag. I pulled
towards a parking spot, it's occupied by a Mx plated car who is finished and drives off, so I take his place. There's a couple cops there so we nod
and smile/wave as we get out of there cars. They wave back todo esta bien. Then 2 minutes into the coffee the cops come in and tell us we've got
"teekeets". By the time we come outside one of the cars has it's license plate gone, and they're approaching mine. I place my butt against the plate
and say "No tocar mi coche!!" He takes out his handcuffs and says "Tu licencia!". Then I start photoing everyone and everything with my smart phone
and this REALLY peees them off. I soon relent and we all go to the police station in a caravan to pay a silly parking fine. At some point we demanded
an English speaking translator who was very very nice, but all he could offer is "These are my bosses, all I can say is never come to Cd Constitution
again". In the end it was only $465 pesos (for 2 cars) and a waste of a hour. The comedy of cultural differences hit me when the squad commander was
filling out our fines and says "Hoy hay una Discuenta de %25!! Amigo!" Huh... Oh, and the fine paying room we were in had about 3 thousand confiscated
license plates. It was one of those odd moments when I'm doubled over in tears of laughter, with 6 very stern and serious cops looking at me.
Precious.
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Maron
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Posts: 458
Registered: 4-14-2014
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Going South, in our Class A Motor Home, how do we avoid, the town?
Many thanks, I don't want to drive my RV to the police station.
Happy new year and be safe.
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kiterkip
Nomad
Posts: 139
Registered: 10-17-2010
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Quote: Originally posted by Maron  | Going South, in our Class A Motor Home, how do we avoid, the town?
Many thanks, I don't want to drive my RV to the police station.
Happy new year and be safe. |
You cannot! All I can say is look at this thread for a few days and follow any pointers you read. At every intersection through the town on the main
highway there is a 4-way stop instead of a logical traffic light.... come to a complete stop at all of these crazy intersections, and politely allow
all others to cross. Go 5 under the speed limit. But.... if you've got US or Canadian plates... you're screwed anyway.
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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FYI: when I head south, I remove my license plates from normal positions, and place one in rear window of camper shell and one on front dashboard to
keep them from being removed when I'm away from truck.
(Old trick I learned from a book 30+ years back... )
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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C.D.
I spend the night at Juanconito beach,,P.E. or ligui and drive thru before 7:30 AM and miss all of them..(ha...ha) K&T
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floydo
Junior Nomad
Posts: 30
Registered: 11-8-2013
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Yep, many reports on that
If you look back, there are many threads on that....stop, drive very carefully, and you will likely get through.....likely 
Sorry to hear your experience Kip!
Some people drive the parallel roads, but that is the dirt path.....
When we can, we go through very early in the morning...
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sd
Nomad
Posts: 487
Registered: 3-19-2008
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Sorry to see this happening. When I was "held up" by La Paz police it was beyond frustrating. Dirty cops!
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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Exactly what was the infraction for? Illegal parking?
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
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| Quote: Originally posted by kiterkip | | Quote: Originally posted by Maron | Going South, in our Class A Motor Home, how do we avoid, the town?
Many thanks, I don't want to drive my RV to the police station.
Happy new year and be safe. |
You cannot! All I can say is look at this thread for a few days and follow any pointers you read. At every intersection through the town on the main
highway there is a 4-way stop instead of a logical traffic light.... come to a complete stop at all of these crazy intersections, and politely allow
all others to cross. Go 5 under the speed limit. But.... if you've got US or Canadian plates... you're screwed anyway.
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The traffic lights were taken out by a hurricane several years ago and simply replaced with stop signs at
nearly every intersection. I made my contribution to their public safety program back in 2007. I was following a large hay truck through town and
stopped for speeding. After 30 minutes of haggling and a contribution of 200 pesos I was on my way. I have passed through many times since without
incident. I just stay in the center lanes never exceeding 15 mph (25 kph) and stopped at every stop sign and ensured there were no pedestrians in
sight before proceeding. It peees off all the other traffic but the cops haven't hassled me since.
[Edited on 1-1-2015 by Alan]
In Memory of E-57
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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... for wearing too deep of pockets... 
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
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Mood: Gettin' Better
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I just spent 4 days in Constitucion and had no bad experiences with the police. I was in a pick-up or on my moto and had a brief encounter with a
cop-on-a-quad when I entered a one-way street at night....and was in the middle to turning the bike around when he zoomed up and started saying
something....I nodded and he seemed content to allow me to proceed to my nightly helado mission.
The next night he passed me at the helado stand and smiled and offered a "Que pase?"....
I figured out the etiquette of the stop signs and the intersections of the primary and secondary streets in town. I gave the police plenty of
opportunities to pull me over and did my best to slow down for stop signs....and that system worked for me.....
Don't believe everything you think....
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geoffff
Senior Nomad
Posts: 674
Registered: 1-15-2009
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I haven't had this experience yet in Baja, but just in case I attach my license plates with one-way security screws like those they use in public
restrooms:
http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Machine-Finish-One-Way-Threa...
Of course my state insists on having me replace my license plate every few years, so I have to bust out the vice grips to get the screws out.
-- Geoff
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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While we had no issues twice in 2012, in the middle of the day, there is enough fear to some to have a alternate route through town shown on Google
Earth, perhaps? Is there a 'best' parallel city street, paved, maybe no more stops than on Hwy. 1 and out of the eyes of the policia that is best in
Constitucion?
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Dash cam
Invest in a dash cam.....cheap insurance
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G30WOT6?psc=1
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6027
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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I passed through Constitution twice just before Thanksgiving, trying my best to stay legal because of the warnings I have seen on this board.
I had no problems, but did observe four vehicles that had been pulled over, two of them by Federales! I don't know what was going on, but all of the
vehicles had Mexican plates. Maybe they are just tough on traffic there.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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When someone posts one of these stories I always wonder what the point is of all the posts about how "I went thru there last week, last month, 5 years
ago, whatever, and never had a problem" It would be pretty damn impossible for the CC cops to extort every gringo who drove through there. The fact is
the place has a reputation (well deserved IMHO) of having a bunch of corrupt cops who prey on tourists.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
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| Quote: Originally posted by monoloco | | When someone posts one of these stories I always wonder what the point is of all the posts about how "I went thru there last week, last month, 5 years
ago, whatever, and never had a problem" It would be pretty damn impossible for the CC cops to extort every gringo who drove through there. The fact is
the place has a reputation (well deserved IMHO) of having a bunch of corrupt cops who prey on tourists. |
The
point of the posts is to share tactics that "seem" to work for us. Whether you choose to use them is solely up to you. It has worked for me so I
share, which is a huge reason many join this board.
In Memory of E-57
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Since you have the date, approximate time, the threat of arrest and photos, a flurry of e-mails and postings on Facebook to various government
officials federal, state and local), tourism boards (ditto) and the like may stir things up.
Problems for tourists in CD Constitution can have a negative effect on tourism in Cabo and La Paz, BCS and points north and south on Hwy 1 to include
BC.
Tourism means dollars, and slow/no tourism for businesses affects businesses......and money talks.
Stir it up!!!
On edit, the same goes for you that have (had) problems in Tecate
[Edited on 1-1-2015 by bajaguy]
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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I agree, Guy. The problem in Cd. C. is they have no tourist infrastructure whatsoever, never have and no reason for anyone to spend money there; so
maybe there's a little money-jealousy there for all the 'ricos' headed south to the beaches and resorts.... and they've found their 'Cash-Cow' for
their (the policia) pockets, and their Operations budgets. Mexicano policia are mostly underpaid, and some just not paid at all if the tax funds
aren't there. Ergo, the 'Hassle-Free Zone' mentality is out the door; this is their only piece of the big pie, so they collect.
Cd. C. has always had the reputation, nothing new. My first 'rip-off' in Baja was New Year's Day 1996 in Cd. C, by 'marijuanos', a group of 3 young
kids at a gas station; one or two kept me occupied talking and yabbering, and I caught a third messing with the dials on the gas pump to spike it...
busted, I chewed 'em out a little, and they laughed in my face. Considering the current political climate of Mexico, I doubt anything will change,
because who will police the police? La Paz? Forewarned is fore-armed. This is not a negative thread, but a head's up to travelers, just what is.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Buddah.........yup, it's not normally a tourist destination, but plenty of tourists pass through there.
I would hope that tourism officials and businesses north and south would be concerned if a bump in the road was causing problems to their bottom line.
If'n it were me, I would also e-mail the federal and state delagados with the complaints as well as any Baja/racing/fishing/RV caravan web sites.
Squeeze 'em.....individually we may not make a difference, but if everybody jumps on the bandwagon......
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