Hello Everyone:
If you are renting a car you need to read this: coming back to SJ from Guanacaste in the main road we were stopped by the traffic police. They said we were speeding( wich we probably were at some points) the speeding limit is sometimes 40 KPH, wich is about 20-30 MPH and then it changes to 60-80 KPH. They threathened to take our driving license away and send it back to Liberia so that we could pay the ticket and get back the license at their station. After driving for three hours the last thing we wanted to do was to go back to pick up a driving licence to then drive again to SJ. They said that if we just paid the ticket to them they would not have to write a report so they would not take our license away. Needles to say we did the dumb thing and paid.
At the hotel, they told us that they really go after corrupt police officers and that we should have called the regular police, or write their name and file a complaint. They can't take your license away.
We were just really tired and got caught not thinking straight. Just be aware of this. They had also stopped another american family ahead of us. After this we saw about four or five traffic police with radars stopping people on the road, so just follow the speed limit even if it seems really low or you think you're alone in the road.
Well yes you should follow the speed limit regardless of the country you are in, but in CR where recklessness is the order of the day it makes even more sense. The type of roads that traffic cops hang out on are normally pretty well marked with speed indicators but be aware that speeds drop rapidly on the approach to small towns and conurbations. Why do tourists speed?, beats me but they really do, its like they get caught up with the whole "lets drive crazy" culture.
If Gringos kept their cash in their pockets and their wits about them there would be a lot less corruption. If you've done the crime take the ticket. If you haven't and are polite but firm, once they "know that you know" that cash cannot legally change hands, the problem will go away.
My record for being stopped for no reason on a single drive from Tamarindo to San Jose is three.
If your speeding, and you get caught, which would you rather do, be delayed going thru the legal channels as a foreigner, or pay a small bribe thats a lot less than anything in your home country, and be on your way?
if your caught in the radar trap, its your problem, not theirs, so be glad you have a choice to give a traffic cop $10 that makes $70 week, and be on your way. If not, choose the legal route, its up to you, and though it is wrong to pay off a cop, you were guilty, so you saved money and time, as wrong as a bribe is, a nice option.
I disagree. Who cares what they make a week. A bribe is a bribe and paying corrupt police on the spot is only contributing to the problem. If you tell them you wont pay they'll likely let you go on your way, and if not, pay the ticket.
By paying bribes, every gringo pulled over will become subject to that attitude...a quick buck.
It's like handing out stuff to kids as a tourist. It becomes expected after a while and turns them into beggars. Whether you like it or not , you are only making the problem worse... the salary thing is lame in my opinion.
Bribery happens, it's a reality.
Do I condone it? No
What would I do in the same circumstances...? Depends...
I have heard from other travellers that have successfully avoided the bribe by:
1. Saying "Vamos ala estacion policia"... Okay, fine - let's go back to the police station. Then the cop realizes he's not going to get the $$ and lets the driver go.
2. Acting like they don't know Spanish (even though they are fluent). "I don't understand"... Finally the cop gets tired of wasting time and lets the driver go.
You never have to surrender your passport or drivers license ANYWHERE. That's just naive. Always tell the official (or fake official) - okay, but let's go back to the embassy/police station/etc... first.
Cheers,
Kay
Those that accept bribery as "just is" are encouraging a whole set of crap behaviour for which those that follow you will continue to be the victims.
Granted, fear and lack of knowledge may spur the path of least resistance but it is very rare that the cops can do what they say. I was recently stopped for speeding with my tica girlfriend. They solicited no bribe and after a perfucntury inspection of paperwork issued a 5 dollar ticket. That is all they can legally do.
My first ever experience with bribery may offer an interesting perspective.
In the early nineties, my friends and i arrived in Gambia on a sail boat. We went off and found immigration in a dusty shed that looked like a farm, full of machinery. We were told the man was not there. So we waited. And waited. And waited. We came back the next day and by the afternoon we had worn out our welcome and the guy who kept telling us too wait, simply reached into a draw and pulled out the stamp to stamp our passports. I didnt realise till later that they had been waiting for a bribe and we had outwitted them by accident. Since then i have paid thousands of dollars in bribes in a proffesional capacity, usually when a delay would have cost much more than not paying. The mexican custom guys sum it up best. They tell you that you can have regular service that make take a few days or you can get "express service" for an additional fee. That is how it works.
The Transitos(MOPT) in Costa rica target and exploit tourists not because they can but because it is lucrative. Ususally the radar guns are either fixed on a high number or have the last reading from a previous offender. Everybody speeds. Watch out for motorists coming the other way flashing their headlights, this is a warning.
Always insist on a ticket. If they object ask their name (From ID) and number and you will find yourself issued with a ticket very quickly. Tickets are cheap. These guys are not policemen. They are basically glorified parking meter maids. You can ask for the real police if there is a dispute. . The tickets by the way can be paid at the local bank
If you must pay a bribe make it no more than a few thousand colones. Keep a few notes handy and never pull out a wallet full of cash. Tell them you have no more, it is part of the negotiations. They know you have more..
Costa rica has many good laws and a lot of protection for individuals. All you have to do is insist on your rights and you will be given them. No one is going to take your papers and no one is going to drag you off into the bushes and beat you up so there is nothing to fear.
DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT, AND NO WORRIES.
Speed, and pay the fines...
You can easily say no to a bribe....
I was going 130Km in 80 on Pan Am1 (Should been arrested),
I just want to clarify a few things: The reason I posted this was to inform some naive touris(like me) so that in the event that this happens to them they are better prepared.
The speed in the radar was 122 kmp which my husband swears he never went so fast. The speed limit changes a lot throughout the road and maybe he did not notice all the changes or he chose to speed a little, then if you get caugh you have to pay. I do not argue that. I think everybody speeds at some points but it sucks getting caught.
That is not the problem. The problem is that they wanted to take our money.
The first thing they said in a very intimidating way was how fast we were going and how we never lowered down the speed through various speed changes, then they continued to say that they needed to take our driving license away and send it to Liberia with the ticket. they said it as if it was a fact. When I asked them to please give us a break ... they said they could not because their boss would check the radar and they would lose their job. they proceeded to pretend to call their boss to try and help us so that we did not have to drive three more hours back to Liberia to get our driver license back. They said their boss would take care of paying the fine which was by the way $ 80 dollars, and that way they would not have to write the traffic report. When I asked if we could pay the fine in SJ they said only if they write the report and take our license away.
We decided to pay them the ticket but not in a bribe kind of way more in a stupid kind of way. I did not mean to bribe them. Looking back we should have done things very different. That's why I wrote this post. I believed them when they said they would take our license and that we had to go back to Liberia to pick it up( like I said, I'm naive). We could have just not paid the ticket and get a new license, it's $15 to get a new one but we were not sure if we were going to needed it to leave the country, sometimes they ask for additional identification to board planes so we did not want to take a chance.
In the end they got away with it and it does bother me as I feel we were victims of corrupt cops. Just be aware so that you know that they can not take your documents and that you can call the real police. I hope this helps someone.
Victims of corrupt cops?
Thats plain inaccurate.
Your in a developing country with a different justice system. had you had a accident and hurt someone while speeding, you would be in jail, and not get out until you paid for damages. The justice system in CR is not like your home country. Get off your high horse and realize that things operate a lot different in other countries, bribes or not, you break the law, its a roll of dice.
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