Visitors getting pulled over by police in Mexico is regrettably all too common (Photo: Willem van Bergen / Flickr)
Peak spring break travel season (March-April) approaches. Due to recent currency fluctuations, Mexico is a very good deal for Americans. Many TravelSkills readers (or their family members) may be headed there on vacation, so we offer up this Reader Report as word of caution.
It’s important to note that the TravelSkills reader experiences in Mexico are not isolated– We’ve written about this before, and just last week another incident rolled into our email box:
A Cancun motorcycle cop shook me down for $100 US today. Was merging onto the highway on our way to the airport – at a speed safe to merge with ongoing traffic – and got pulled over. The cop said we could come to the police station and pay $2,500 Mexican pesos or pay him $100 US on the spot. We paid the $100, and he left us alone to make our flight.
Here’s a video of a visitor getting a shakedown:
Has it happened to you, too? Please leave your comments below…
Here’s the original story that we posted last year:
Twice in five days, the Cancun police stopped me and issued me tickets while I was driving a rental car in Mexico,
I want to provide a bit of travel history and driving context to this conversation. This is my 22nd visit to Mexico since 1998, and the fourth time I have rented a car in this country in four years. I have been to Cancun four times. Outside of this week’s getting stopped, I haven’t had a speeding ticket in nine years. And I have had no tickets or hassles driving in Mexico.
Until now.
My encounters with the Cancun police were notably similar, with small and interesting variations. In both instances, the police car pulled me over, the passenger patrolman approached the car, greeted me, shook my hand, took my license, and asked me out of the car–my passenger remained inside. In both instances, the officer explained the infraction (more on these later), and told me that I could pick up my license at the police station in downtown Cancun the following day once I paid the fine of 2000 pesos (the second officer rounded up to 200 US$).
My first ticket was for going 78 kph in a 70 kph zone (akin to going 48 mph in a 43 mph zone, for the metrically afflicted). My second was for going through a yellow light, which the patrol car happily facilitated, by driving at 30 kph in front of me, then turning so as to deposit me in the center of the now yellow intersection. And yes, he was ready, with flashing lights once I made it through.
Rather miraculously, the first encounter ended with the ticket-writing officer suddenly deciding to let me go–he handed me my license, and waved me off. Throughout the exchange, I was polite, but insistent that I was driving the speed limit.
Photo: Christien Cordova / Flickr
In the second case, the patrolman started bargaining with me from the start. “The ticket is $200US if you pay it at the station tomorrow, but if you pay it right now, it is only $100.” I protested that I didn’t have $100, and perhaps a warning made more sense–he then offered $80. Sensing that we were now bargaining as if negotiating over sunglass prices with a beach vendor, I offered $50, which he rejected–but I handed him 700 pesos (about $35) and he gave me back my license.
Needless to say, once we got back to our hotel, the car stayed garaged for the trip duration. And the drive from hotel to airport was incredibly mindful of every speed limit, traffic sign, and red light.
Throughout all the troubles and travel advisories Mexico has experienced, I have been an advocate for continued travel here. Mexico provides color and texture and warmth–both temperature and service–with unrivaled value and noteworthy proximity to the US. And Cancun–on paper, at least–is a perfect place to rent a car. The roads are great, signage clear, and attractions numerous. Moreover, renting a car is inexpensive by US standards.
Beaches near Cancun, Mexico (Photo: Maria Michelle / Pixabay)
But I cannot endorse this destination–Cancun–any longer after this experience; at the least, renting a car here is contraindicated. While it is clear that citing law-abiding travelers is easier than stopping drug cartels, it is equally clear that Cancun turns a blind eye to the harassment of visitors in this fashion.
Cancun’s tolerance of such corruption by its police certainly affected my perception of the place, and dampened any enthusiasm for returning that I might have otherwise had. And next time I hear some Mexican tourism authority official pleading for individual or group business amidst the stigma of ongoing drug violence, I will ponder this: You can’t end your petty corruption let alone fight your crime problems. Throw a tarp over your hotels in Cancun for all I care.
D.D., Denver, Colorado
We found some helpful advice about how to deal with demands for a mordida or bribe in Mexico and other Latin American countries here.
Another site recommends having a copy of your drivers license available when driving in Mexico, and only providing the real thing at the police station.
Have you ever been asked for a bribe when driving in Mexico another country? Share your experience below.
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You said “Mexico provides color and texture and warmth–both temperature and service–with unrivaled value and noteworthy proximity to the US.” I think it’s the people in general, especially out of the big tourist areas that also make the country great. I’ve been going to Mexico or 40 years (mostly Baja) and have been shaken down numerous times. It used to be that you just slid a 20 under your license when you handed it over, no words exchanged. It was the unwritten rule. The last time it happened, we did a full 3 second stop at a stop sign and then were pulled over for running it. He offered to let us pay a 50 dollar fine, we said we only had 20. Done. This time we did tell the guy that they weren’t helping the tourism industry (we speak good Spanish). But for people driving down there, it’s nothing to panic about when you see the flashing lights. Just don’t EVER drive at night in Mexico. EVER. We’re hardcore Mexico veterans and lovers of the country and that is our hard and fast rule. Stay on toll roads outside of cities, don’t drive at night, and don’t freak out when the cops pull you over unless you have ten pounds of weed or some guns in the trunk and you’ll be fine. It’s pretty safe if you use some common sense. I’ve bailed people out of jail, paid off soldiers when we were caught smoking pot (I know, I said common sense but we were 20 years old), and was once let go by the chief of police when a friend was caught peeing on a tree because we’d helped him change a flat tire earlier that day. So half the time it was our fault but everything is negotiable. And always an adventure.
Great report and great suggestions. I’d go with the “play along” one. Sure, I’ll go to the police station, let’s do it. I also like the idea of only handing a “copy” of your license. And as one individual commented below, as long as you don’t give your passport, who cares if they take the license. Get a new one when you get home.
Flew into CUN three weeks ago for a week-long holiday. Rented a car in advance and drove to the resort from the rental car place just off the airport property. Stayed about half-way between Playa and Tulum. Drove into Tulum two nights for dinner; once to the beach resort area, once to the main drag ‘downtown’ for street food. Also drove back to the airport for departure. Drove during the day, and at night. Lots of police patrols and checkpoints, always drove below the speed limit even though most other drivers were flying by us. We encountered no incidents with the police. I had read up on these stories prior to the trip but decided I wanted the freedom of having a car to sightsee and thus saving on the airport transfer costs since we were staying a 90-minute ride south of the airport.
It’s an old tradition in Mexico. One of my college professors told stories about this regularly happening to him while he was going to college in Mexico City in the 1950’s! Old habits are hard to break.
The article states that the ticket was written for 78kph; DD denies that he was driving 78kph.
Perhaps we are reading different versions of the article? What I read is that the ticket was written for 78kph in a 70kph zone; DD did not say he was driving 78kph. DD writes that he kept denying he was speeding, and he was let go.
In the second incident involving the yellow light, DD’s explanation indicates that the police car slowed down so that DD could not clear the intersection in time.
Nowhere am I reading DD admitting to us or to the officers that he had actually commited a traffic violation in either instance.
had this happen to me as well a few times, and I wasn’t even speeding. I agree with the tip of playing along. Alternatively, once they have come down “in price”, you tell them you’d be happy to pay them and ask them to write up and provide the official ticket/ fine. I’ve never had them do the paperwork, they just let you go, probably because it’s to much work and they won’t get any of the money themelves. Plus you have something on them as they usually don’t have proof of you speeding.
I had a very similar thing happen to me, also in Cancun, a year and a half ago. I was staying near Playa del Carmen and was driving my rental car back to the Cancun airport to catch my filght home. It was around 6am and there were very few cars on the highway, I was going the speed limit, but still a cop at a highway checkpoint told me they had video of me speeding and they told me to pull to the side of the road. There is NO WAY I was speeding, I was very careful to go the exact speed limit, but they said I was going something like 30 km/h over the speed limit.
But very quickly I realized they just wanted money. He kept asking for my passport and telling me I had to go to Playa del Carmen to attend a hearing and pay a fine (not an option since he knew I was headed to CUN airport to catch a flight), or I could just pay him on the spot (he started at around $200 USD). Thankfully I had the wherewithal to not give him my passport, as I have a feeling he would have taken it hostage, knowing that I needed it in order to fly home. Instead, I just started negotiating the fine and was finally able to get him down quite a bit. I think his last “offer” to me was around $50 USD, but I just handed him some pesos, the equivalent of $40 USD and he accepted it and I went on my way.
This was 100% a shakedown and left a sick feeling in my stomach afterwards. No way I would ever rent a car in the Cancun area again… and I’m not sure I would even go to Cancun again at all. I’ve wondered if this scenario is specific to the Cancun/Riviera Maya area or more widespread throughout Mexico. From this thread, it sounds like it might be more the former, which is somewhat encouraging, at least in terms of thinking about traveling to other parts of Mexico.
It’s a real shame, because an incident like this will cause the Cancun area to lose a lot of tourist dollars, just so some cop could get a much smaller amount of money in his pocket one time. The tourism officials in this area really need to fix the problem, as right now they are just shooting themselves in the foot by allowing it to happen. I suppose they may not have a choice, which is really sad.
This occured in 2010..myself, my GF at the time and 2 friends fill up a rental car and decide to go to the hotel zone in Cancun (about an
hour north of our hotel). We visit the turquoise beach, take a ferry
to an offshore island. as we head back to our hotel we drive into
Cancun and are on a major road, 3-4 lanes major thoroughfare that
connects to the main highway headed south.
I am driving along, I look out my side window, and see a motorcycle
cop right there, he is motioning me to pull over. I pull off the road,
I sit in the car hands on the wheel, waiting for him to approach. I
see his hand in my mirror, motioning for me to come back to him.
In broken English, he tells me I was going 60kph in a 40kph zone. Asks
to see my license. “Hmmm, you are from California…. how long
have I been there. He informs me that my infraction is a 1,200
peso fine.
The procedure is: He takes my license down to the central police
station, I pay the 1,200 peso fine, I get my license back.
I tell the officer that I am flying out the next day, it would be VERY
difficult to get to the police station the following day. (mentally I
am thinking I can get out of the country with just my passport, I get
back to California, I get a replacement license…no problem!)
in a concerned voice, he says “Oh, so that would be difficult for
you to take care of that at the station….. would it be easier if I
could “take care” of the fine right there?”
I am starting to get the drift of where he is going with this! … I
say ” Yes sir, I would love to take care of this right now, but I
don’t have 1,200 pesos with me.”
Without missing a beat, he looks me straight in the eyes and asks
“WELL, how much do you have?”
I look at him and say .. “I believe I have 600 pesos”
he says “that will work!”
So I go back to the car, I have about 650 pesos, I peel off the 600,
hand it to him, he pockets it and waves me on, tells me to obey the
speed limit.
Thankfully he didn’t ask how much USD I had, or if the other people in
the car had pesos also!
FYI: 600 pesos at the time was $43
78k/h in a 70km/h is speeding in most countries. Usually, the speed limit is the MAXIMUM speed that is allowed. Police in most countries will give you a 5km/h or 10km/h leeway but it is still speeding.
And for the second instance, if the patrol car was going 30km/h, that is slow if it was a main road or similar…but there is no mention of how close D.D. was to the patrol car. Was it a safe distance etc.
Nothing groundbreaking here, just speculation.
This is why I have no desire to go to Mexico. I have heard these stories from multiple friends who experienced it in Cancun. When I go on vacation I don’t want to have to worry about getting ripped off by crooked cops. Even though I can always just take a cab, the fact that the cops are so crooked does not give me much confidence for my safety if anything ever goes wrong.
Yes, really. If you’ve done nothing wrong then stand your ground. These crooked traffic cops know when they have leverage over folks and they exploit it to a t. Having broken a law allows them all the leverage necessary to pry open the wallet. Having not broken the law allows them nothing but a little intimidation of which they back off if you stand your ground.
Have been wading through these crooked cops all my life. Point: don’t give them leverage by actually committing a traffic violation like DD.
I don’t go Mexico for vacation only business and I refuse to drive. I love ole Mexico but a hit in the wallet is where the changes are made. This is nothing to thing in the boondocks where I go. Locals get harassed. Drive nowhere!
So on the first incident DD is mad at getting caught for going over the speed limit? Give me a break. If you don’t want to get in a sticky situation with the traffic police then don’t break any laws.
I’d suggest you familiarize yourself with local traffic laws in Mexico because as similar as they may seem to US laws, they are in fact slightly different.