Police cranking up tickets @ Lakeside

hockables wrote:

joec wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:I have received a photo radar ticket here and the picture is off the back plate not the front plate.

Even if the picture is off the back plate, is their system configured to tie it to the owners car, ie: insurance policy with name and address? I'm not saying you should avoid paying tickets as we have paid the very few we have received in 11 years, maybe 2.

For a Few Pennies .... I'm sure Mexican Authorities could get any and all Info from US Databanks to issue you your well deserved Speeding Ticket...after that, they may send a Tow Truck to haul your South Dakota Plated Hunk O Junk back across the Rio...

just say'n is all...

hocks - My car is not registered in the US, so good luck with that. Tow my car from where??? Anyway as I said above, I don't speed or break the law like so many others do here.

The thing about photo radar is troublesome, as no one with US plates would know they have pending citations. Where would a person go to check if they had tickets against their vehicle?

......And it is this exact "ID avoidance" scenario which will cause Mexico to reconsider its vehicle rules and regs in regards to expats. I am thinking they will change things to allow 6 months with your foreign vehicle and then you either nationalize it or get it out of the country.

[quote="CanuckBob"]......And it is this exact "ID avoidance" scenario which will cause Mexico to reconsider its vehicle rules and regs in regards to expats. I am thinking they will change things to allow 6 months with your foreign vehicle and then you either nationalize it or get it out of the country.[/quote]

Well said, CB. It´s about time Mexico cracked down on foreign residents driving foreign plated cars and flaunting the law by throwing away tickets ( and bragging about it on this forum) while also avoiding annual local registration fees. At the very least the state should require significant annual registration fees for foreign plated vehicles with mandatory current numbered registration stickers on the vehicle´s windows visible to traffic cops who can then record tickets indentifying the vehicle for future reference if the ticket is not paid. As with locally registered vehicles, if the ticket is not paid the amount of the ticket (plus any penalties) woud be assessed at the annual re-registration time.

I guess if I were a Mexican traffic cop and knew owners of foreign plated vehicles were just laughing at me and throwing away their tickets unpaid, I´d assess the fine on the spot with the alternative being vehiclei impoundment until the fine was paid.

These people who refuse to pay their deserved tickets and laugh at the system encourage corruption and are corrupt themselves. They will, as CB wrote, be at least partially responsible for the coming tightening of Mexico´s rules and regulations regarding foreign temporarily imported vehicles.

I remember how this was handled in the U.S. A number of years ago I was driving from Illinios to Alabama with California plates when I was pulled over in Tennessee for speeding through a small town and, believe me, I was definitely speeding as young men are prone to do. The local cop who pulled me over gave me a choice. Pay the ticket then and there or go before a traffic judge when the court opened or have my car imponded until I paid the fine. The boy paid then and there and was grateful for the opportunity.

CanuckBob wrote:......And it is this exact "ID avoidance" scenario which will cause Mexico to reconsider its vehicle rules and regs in regards to expats. I am thinking they will change things to allow 6 months with your foreign vehicle and then you either nationalize it or get it out of the country.

Maybe the reason that they have not done what you suggested has to do with the cost of setting up this type of program for foreigners. I think there's a lot more than meets the eye to set it up.

If the City of Chapala wants to make more revenue in tickets, all they need to do is have one cop ticketing people for infractions on the Carretera at La Floresta, speeding, driving and passing in the right lane, etc. They could make 500 + US a day.

When we were in Chapala we were stopped by a motorcycle cop. We were both wearing seat belts. My husband unfastened his to walk back to the cop. He said "The reason I stopped you was because you weren't wearing a seat belt.

Ms Mac wrote:When we were in Chapala we were stopped by a motorcycle cop. We were both wearing seat belts. My husband unfastened his to walk back to the cop. He said "The reason I stopped you was because you weren't wearing a seat belt.

Well, I guess it's obvious then what someone should do when pulled over by Transito.

A friend was pulled over and stopped with seat belt fastened. The cop said. " I saw you reach for your belt when you passed by me". And that's what is was....fastened but too late.
Moral of story...You have a better chance of getting away with it if you do nothing when spotted than to reach over your left shoulder with your right hand that is a visible movement to the cop.

Year ago when we were still driving a California plated car and had to often drive through the heart of Mexico City to get to and from Chiapas (before the Arco Norte opened) , the crooked cops in that burg were always looking for suckers with foreign license plates to rob. One day in the airport area of the city two thuggish cops pulled us over and indicated that we were driving on a day forbidden under city ordinance so they were going to impound our car unless we pad them a huge mordida. My wife responded that that day was a national holiday and, thus, the statute prohibiting driving ordinarily enforced for cars with our plate last number was, by law, suspended for the holiday. Well, the cop looked flustered but responded that she was right BUT we had changed lanes back up the expressway without giving a turn signal and that was going to cost us $1,000Pesos payable on the spot. Of course, this was a blatant lie. We would never have dared change lnes on that Mexico City Expessway without giving a signal as we are not suicidal.

Well, fine you say but how the hell do you prove that the cop is lying and you, in fact, had not changed lanes without signaling so we knew we were caught in the web of these crooked thugs with guns and yet still told him that was too much. He said, well OK, how about $800Pesos. It happens that we were lost and looking for the freeway to Queretaro and had been looking for a taxi to pay to lead us to the entrance to that highway, a service for which we were willing to pay $400Pesos. My wife responded, "No, $800Pesos is still too much." So, the cop blurted out, "Well, just how much are you willing to give me?". My wife then responded, "It happens we are lost and if you let us follow you to the nearest on ramp to the Queretaro freeway we´ll pay you $400 Pesos". The crooked cops were overjoyed so there we were being escorted to that freeway through the streets of Mexico City sirens blaring and lights flashing scaring the hell out of anyone who got in our way.

$600 p for no seat belt? They must be making a killing on those pickup trucks carrying 15 people in the back, eh? ;)

hkrause wrote:$600 p for no seat belt? They must be making a killing on those pickup trucks carrying 15 people in the back, eh? ;)

And what do they do when they see a pick up truck full of kids or full of workers going to a job or going home? Answer: NOTHING!!! I see this everyday at Lakeside.

For Mexican plated vehicles you can go online and run the license plate number and it will show if you have any outstanding tickets.

When you renew your plates every year, they will now have a list of your tickets for you to pay before you can re-register.

I had to pay a 400 peso ticket before we could re-register our SUV.

Can't remember the web site to go to to find the tickets. Sorry.

Big Daddy

[quote="joec"]

hkrause wrote:$600 p for no seat belt? They must be making a killing on those pickup trucks carrying 15 people in the back, eh? ;)

And what do they do when they see a pick up truck full of kids or full of workers going to a job or going home? Answer: NOTHING!!! I see this everyday at Lakeside.[/quote]

John, John, John. Those people driving or piled in the back of that pickup truck including tiny kids have no money nor a pot to pee in. That´s why they are a low priority for the transito who normally don´t even notice them. I don´t think you and I want to trade places with them. That´s a lousy deal. I´ll pay my mordida or the multa in Chapala (whichever alternative pleases me under the circumstances) and thank God I don´t have to ride with 15 other people in the back of a pickup truck to get to my destination.

By the way, it´s New Year´s Eve and at about 5:00PM I re-entered the carretera through La Floresta after taking my darlin´ wife to the airport to fly to Chiapas and the cops were out in force with long lines of vehicles stopped with transito cops handing out countless tickets and taking breath samples from anyone who they surmised may have been drinking with zero tolerance for any alcohol consumption whatsoever. The speed limit there is 40KPH and God help you if you exceed it. Wise folks stay at home on this evening if they plan to drink or even not to drink but simply get home in one piece.

My wife got a ticket yesterday between Super Lake and Riberas for speeding over the vibradores on the carretera in that area. It seems the unposted speed limit over those vibradores is 30KPH according to the transit cop who confronted her. My wife asked how the transito cop had ascerained she had been speeding over the vibradores and he responded, "Well, if you were going the correct reduced speed over the vibradores, your car would have made the sound ´thump-thump-thump´ in proper slow cadence but your car went´thumpitythumpitythump´ which was clear evidence you were speeding." At that point, my darlin´ wife asked what the fine might be and the cop responded $1,300 Pesos but for you make it $200 Pesos if we settle this now.

hound dog wrote:[quote="joec"]

hkrause wrote:$600 p for no seat belt? They must be making a killing on those pickup trucks carrying 15 people in the back, eh? ;)

And what do they do when they see a pick up truck full of kids or full of workers going to a job or going home? Answer: NOTHING!!! I see this everyday at Lakeside.

hound dog quote = "John, John, John. Those people driving or piled in the back of that pickup truck including tiny kids have no money nor a pot to pee in. That´s why they are a low priority for the transito who normally don´t even notice them. I don´t think you and I want to trade places with them. That´s a lousy deal. I´ll pay my mordida or the multa in Chapala (whichever alternative pleases me under the circumstances) and thank God I don´t have to ride with 15 other people in the back of a pickup truck to get to my destination."

"By the way, it´s New Year´s Eve and at about 5:00PM I re-entered the carretera through La Floresta after taking my darlin´ wife to the airport to fly to Chiapas and the cops were out in force with long lines of vehicles stopped with transito cops handing out countless tickets and taking breath samples from anyone who they surmised may have been drinking with zero tolerance for any alcohol consumption whatsoever. The speed limit there is 40KPH and God help you if you exceed it. Wise folks stay at home on this evening if they plan to drink or even not to drink but simply get home in one piece."

"My wife got a ticket yesterday between Super Lake and Riberas for speeding over the vibradores on the carretera in that area. It seems the unposted speed limit over those vibradores is 30KPH according to the transit cop who confronted her. My wife asked how the transito cop had ascerained she had been speeding over the vibradores and he responded, "Well, if you were going the correct reduced speed over the vibradores, your car would have made the sound ´thump-thump-thump´ in proper slow cadence but your car went´thumpitythumpitythump´ which was clear evidence you were speeding." At that point, my darlin´ wife asked what the fine might be and the cop responded $1,300 Pesos but for you make it $200 Pesos if we settle this now. [/quote]

What a racket! Now they're getting New Years gifts too!!! Probably so they can buy more Tequila. hahaha.... Anyway us teetotallers are staying in. Just finished a nice meal of Italian shells stuffed with great ricotta cheese. Bella Giosa is the brand. Hope it stops raining so I can see the fireworks at Times Square at New Years.

If it is a seatless pickup truck bed, there are no seat belts,hence a ticket can't be given for not using what doesn't exist. Mexico is a logical country!
gm

Big Daddy Mexico wrote:For Mexican plated vehicles you can go online and run the license plate number and it will show if you have any outstanding tickets.
When you renew your plates every year, they will now have a list of your tickets for you to pay before you can re-register.
I had to pay a 400 peso ticket before we could re-register our SUV.
Can't remember the web site to go to to find the tickets. Sorry.
Big Daddy

SaY, Big Daddy, Dawg has been ensconced in my seasonal move to Chiapas and has been, consequently, unable to try your new sausage treats. I wil try them upon my first opportunity. I want to know about the progress on the development of my suggested skin-on flavorful hot dog weiner with which I can asssure all makes superior hot dogs which I can utilize when I return to Lkeside. I know you have been working on this project. What have you acheived so far? I await your response.

Won't those folks with US plates be surprised when they try to exit the country and find that the police now have the ability to link your license plate with your passport number. They will have quite a fine to pay to get over the border.

Gamina wrote:Won't those folks with US plates be surprised when they try to exit the country and find that the police now have the ability to link your license plate with your passport number. They will have quite a fine to pay to get over the border.

Never heard of this. Which police? Sounds like BS to me.

joec wrote:
hocks - My car is not registered in the US, so good luck with that. Tow my car from where??? Anyway as I said above, I don't speed or break the law like so many others do here.

John, if you car isn't registered in the US (and I'm assuming not registered anywhere else) you probably aren't covered by any car insurance, whether or not you pay the premiums. You car's illegal.

Luisa wrote:

joec wrote:
hocks - My car is not registered in the US, so good luck with that. Tow my car from where??? Anyway as I said above, I don't speed or break the law like so many others do here.

John, if you car isn't registered in the US (and I'm assuming not registered anywhere else) you probably aren't covered by any car insurance, whether or not you pay the premiums. You car's illegal.

How long have you lived here? My car has Mass plates on it and is not insured in Mass. They are expired. I'm not driving in the US. I've lived here for 11 years. My car insurance is Mexican insurance and my car IS legal. Are you making the laws in Mexico now?

Gamina wrote:Won't those folks with US plates be surprised when they try to exit the country and find that the police now have the ability to link your license plate with your passport number. They will have quite a fine to pay to get over the border.

?????When driving and exiting Mexico, nothing is checked by Mexican authorities.

Jim W wrote:

Gamina wrote:Won't those folks with US plates be surprised when they try to exit the country and find that the police now have the ability to link your license plate with your passport number. They will have quite a fine to pay to get over the border.

?????When driving and exiting Mexico, nothing is checked by Mexican authorities.

You drive to AZ a lot so you might know this answer. When you cross the border into the US, does Customs check what's in your car? Reason I'm asking is after we sell the house, I'll have it packed to the roof inside.

John, When driving to the border in our escape loaded, and items on top rack, we were stopped 4 times. At the military check point, they wanted me to unload top rack and have it x-rayed. I explained it took 2 to load and I couldn't physically do it alone, however they were welcome to do it. Since it was 100 degrees, they waived us thru. Every trip....4 in the past 6 months, inspection in Mexico has been different.

When reaching US Customs....same deal...asked a few questions, sent over to inspection line once.

John:

Here is the proceedure we always used when crossing the border- make a handwritten list which details the contents of each and every numered box or container with a value listed for each item. We are always 100% honest with the list figuring that if they were to inspect and find even one unlisted item, we would really be in for a total inspection. I have the list sitting on the dash and when they start to ask about what we have, I just grab the list and offer it to them. Not once have they been interested! This proceedure was used for two trips when we were bringing items from the house we sold and at least ten trips returning home with a fully loaded minivan from our other trips. I am not sure how the current regs read but back in 2005/2006 used household goods were exempt. I just told them that a majority of the items were used personal items from the sale of our Mexican house.

CheenaGringo wrote:John:

Here is the proceedure we always used when crossing the border- make a handwritten list which details the contents of each and every numered box or container with a value listed for each item. We are always 100% honest with the list figuring that if they were to inspect and find even one unlisted item, we would really be in for a total inspection. I have the list sitting on the dash and when they start to ask about what we have, I just grab the list and offer it to them. Not once have they been interested! This proceedure was used for two trips when we were bringing items from the house we sold and at least ten trips returning home with a fully loaded minivan from our other trips. I am not sure how the current regs read but back in 2005/2006 used household goods were exempt. I just told them that a majority of the items were used personal items from the sale of our Mexican house.

Thank you. That is very helpful. It's sort of like listing everything when we came down. We will only be taking clothes, artwork and antiques, but not all of them. Everything else will be sold here. We'll have to ship the others by UPS or Strom White whichever is cheaper.

John:

By offering to provide them with a list, I think they figure you are on the up and up and they really don't want to do any more than necessary. They will, however, ask you their list of inane questions about plants, fruit, liquor, cigarettes, pork and then the one we found to be a classic: "do you have any rocks?". Never did figure that one out! We typically volunteered that we had excess Tequila knowing that when crossing into NM, we merely had to pay $1.50 per liter for overage. They never once asked to count the number of liters. AZ doesn't allow for over limit.

Keep in mind that they are capable of listening to your conversations from inside the car before you even reach the checkpoint. So you will want to keep conversations casual and not related to the crossing. They place a good deal of emphasis on their readings of your demeanor - stay calm and casual and all is good.

Back to the OP - there is hope on the horizon. A couple of members of TOB are up in arms about the foreign population being profiled and targeted. They are taking things under their advisement and are going to recruit the powers (?) at the US Consulate to bring proper pressure. Good luck with that concept!