Yes I got caught speeding on the Toll road to Merida, and I was always told that the Federal tickets are a lot more than state police (still don't know how true this is). The speed limit on that road is 110 km. So the Federal Police hide in a bend classic speed trap with a radar gun I got caught doing 160 km which could of cause me to lose my license in the UK. Well here I got a ticket for the Value of 10 days min pay, and if I pay in the next 15 days the value is only 274 pesos. So I am really happy I took the ticket, and thank god I live in Mexico. I have spoke with friends about this ticket and the police are always there on the toll road so be careful.
Yeah driving fines are pretty cheap here, only one I ever had was for partially parking on a cycle path. I forget how much it was but it was cheap esp when paid early. Good on you for not trying to bribe your way out of it. I got caught a couple of weeks ago speeding on the road to Playa 95km in a 80 - the limit changes every mile it seems, and yeah it was a classic hide behind a tree speed trap. I also didnt have my licence with me which is an extra offence. Fortunately, I did have Jannet with me and she talked us out of both a bribe and a fine. She's amazing - I've been stopped 3 times, her twice and we've never had to pay a bribe or fine yet other than the parking violation.
Corruption The issue of how to deal with fines/tickets, etc., in a foreign country is a sensitive one; but, speaking personally, I'm grateful when people accept tickets, or talk their way out of them, rather than try to make a deal. As RG and others have said, there is little we can do, individually, to change things in Mexico, but not behaving corruptly, when we're in a situation that tempts us to do so, is a beginning....
For what its worth, the tickets in Benito Juarez are A LOT more expensive apparently than the Federal ones, Last year a 15 km over the limit ticket picked up near Puerto Morelos was $900 and something pesos, and there was no discount for paying quickly... so $274 sounds like a real bargain. Supposedly the speeding violations are exempt from any discounts.... of'course that's assuming that the clerk didn't lie and just pocket the difference.
Wasn't my ticket, so I have no idea if he got a receipt.. I do recall reading something to that effect (no discounts) one time in the "ley de transito" years ago, but when I searched it just now, I couldn't find any mention of fines (or discounts), so that's not publicly available anymore on the cancun.gob.mx website. In fact the version on the site is 1996, and I think the one I read years ago was 2000, so unless they've reverted all of the regulations back to the 96 rules, the information on the site is useless and outdated.
Official receipts Life, thanks for the reply. Sorry I didn't catch you weren't talking about a personal experience. As I see it, when paying a fine we're not doing the clerk any favor, and we're not trying to make their job any easier, so demanding an official receipt is important in preventing the very thing Life mentioned; and, not doing so could just make us look like chumps, to those on the other side of the window.
