STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW! Low speed chase?

My experience with the traffic cops yesterday. Probably a replay of what has been posted before, but - - why not again?
I was coming back from some errands; my wife, who speaks fluent Spanish was w/me.

Cops in pick-up pulls us over. Wife had no helmet.

Long conversation in Spanish and cop says since I don't have my registration (true, no windshield, but I should probably be carrying it) there is going to be a big fine. He says $2,100.00. Triple checked w/him as to the amount. Yes, $2,100.00.

He then said pay or the ATV gets towed. This is in Spanish w/my wife, but I got the drift.

Then he looked at my Mx drivers license and said I needed a special motorcycle license to drive a quad.

I said, through my wife, I didn't think he could tow the car for no registration since I had the plate, etc.

So we are going round-and-round. I don't know if he is calling a taxi, tow truck or pretending to be making a call. I finally tell him to tow the ATV and I'll handle it at the municipal palace.

So about that time another cop truck pulls up and now we have 4 cops talking with each other.

And I had already said I was in the wrong w/no registration and my wife w/no helmet, though I'm not even sure the law applies to ATVs.

I keep saying tow the car and I'll flag down a taxi. By this time, my wife is near having kittens, yada, yada.

In this case, it was the principle of the thing. Apologies to those who have read me say this before. If I'm in the wrong, I don't mind paying, but I won't be ripped-off, so I was ready to spend and/or do whatever it might take other than paying roadside blackmail.

Now, a third car pulls up and the cop who gets out looks much more professional and a different uniform, but I didn't look that close. I think where I was stopped may have been on a federal part of the highway and the cops that stopped me were Chapala guys.

This new guy speaks good English. So I explained in a very nice way, that I don't mind paying a "fine" on the spot; I've been here over 10 years and understand how the Mexican system works. That gets a smile out of him.

Three cop cars and five officers "surrounding" me and my wife and my ATV. Must have looked like a drug bust. Possession of ground coffee and such?

So I tell the new guy that there is no way I'm going to pay over $2,000. He says "No, no." I said that's what I was told. I said I would pay $200.00 There were some looks and shaking of heads and the professional looking guy says that sounded fair. He then says something to the first cops and he leaves. So I took the $200 note I had in my hand, went over to the first cop, shook his hand ane he went back to his truck.

So about half-hour of my life taken but it was just another Mexico experience.

End of story.

Let me see if I understand this correctly: You have a helmet for yourself but you do not have one for your wife? Is that correct???

Trailrunner wrote:Let me see if I understand this correctly: You have a helmet for yourself but you do not have one for your wife? Is that correct???

And you paid MORDIDA??? Why are you perpetuating this mordida thing??????? Good heavens, you could have left without paying anything. Folio or ya me voy is what I say.

I'm a male, my wife is a female, I tell her to wear her helmet, she doesn't want to mess up her hair.

Unless you're a married man or a man with a female partner, you might not understand.Not worth the argument.

MORDIDA. “If you should be in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you should be elsewhere, live as they do there”; attributed to St Ambrose.

While I am sometimes clueless, I'm not stupid. I'm not driving away from two cops. I don't want there to be any issue of they say, I say.

An experience.

Does anyone know the fine for not wearing a helmet?

Sounds like $200 pesos.......

at least in efectivo...

No casco 1500MXN

No helmet, no ride.

Absolutely! Same for kids who don't like seat belts or child seats.

Do you know what happens to your brains when you are helmet-less and ejected from a motorcycle or quad? The Fire Department comes and hoses them down. The problem is the little pink leftovers, embedded in the asphalt, are just not big enough to collect and throw in the body bag to send to the coroner for the closed casket funeral. Just sayin'. . .

Wear a damn helmet. Not because it's the law, not because you might get caught, not because you might get fined, not because you can't afford (NO ONE CAN!) a long-term head injury facility, but because you never know when you might get hit by someone or something else.

Kinetic energy is equal to mass multiplied by velocity squared divided by two.

http://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/1551

I just love your reality checks, Trailrunner!!!!

Intercasa. AWESOME.

Actually folks if your helmet is very heavy it can cause neck problems in an accident. You should buy the lightest helmet you can afford. Got this info from my chiropractor. Suppose its better to screw up your neck than open your head up but it is worth a thought when purchasing a helmet and avoid the heavy cheap ones.

Now back to South park.

Z

Actually, Zed, motorcycle helmet manufacturers vary considerably and there is much science behind the design and manufacture of them. They are rated and the US DOT stickers are a good thing to look for.

http://www.motorcyclistlife.com/

Additionally, if you are involved in a crash and are still alive and conscious, never let anyone take your helmet off of you that doesn't know what they are doing - unless there is airway compromise. If you have an unstable neck fracture and a bystander rips the helmet off, you could end up a quad. Only let trained medical personnel remove it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1MdIuVifGQ

And even better yet, only purchase a helmet that has been Snell Approved. The helmet will have a sticker inside.

Agree! All helmets are not created equal. Nor are they inexpensive, I guess it comes down to how much you value your brains. . .

I never had a second thought about the law; I wore a helmet from day one.

Maybe some people when it's there time, it will happen no matter what.

Both our helmets are DOT approved, or so the sticker says; In Mexico it wouldn't surprise me if the cert sticker was a fake.

DOT is a lame standard. Pay the extra for Snell rating as CB noted. I looked at many of the helmets listed and they vary from 2.3 lbs to 4 lbs. Helmets are much lighter than they use to be. I use to wear one that weighed 6 pounds twenty years ago.

Why didn't the person not wearing the helmet pay the fine?

Try to teach them a lesson that could save their life.

Soooooooo.......getting your wife to pay the fine is going to teach her a lesson?? I'm thinking she is going to teach you a lesson or two.....

CanuckBob wrote:Soooooooo.......getting your wife to pay the fine is going to teach her a lesson?? I'm thinking she is going to teach you a lesson or two.....

and what would you think if the Wife was driving and the passenger was the Husband?