They should have someone who "speaks" English, but don't count on it, I don't suppose you had the wherewithal to notice any name tags of the cop that robbed you? You might get the run around for lack of information unfortunately... this is something that the rats count on is tourists not paying attention and being scared... I'm betting you were in a non-Mexican plated vehicle or a rental when you were stopped... that or you looked especially nervous of the checkpoint.... in the future you want to notice the numbers on any patrol cars and all police should have a name tag on their shirts. & always, always, always ask for a ticket if stopped by transito for anything, they can't tow your car unless you're drunk or crashed (or technically if you have unpaid taxes but that's very rare that they would) and they can't arrest you easily either despite their threats to.. they also don't technically have legal authority over foreign vehicles as far as import stickers and "permissions" go, despite what they might want to think. (most cops here literally don't know the law they are supposed to enforce) I'm not suggesting that you get belligerent, but unless you've committed a serious offense or are driving drunk there is very little they can do even if they want to, other than write a ticket, and if they've already asked for money they're unlikely to write the ticket since you'll then have their name and numbers to report when you go to pay it. A tip is just start by saying "Buenos Dias/Noches ofical (name on tag)" That act alone lets them know that you know their name and that you're paying attention so they'd have to be real ballsy or stupid to push you knowing that you have a name to report.
Never get pushy or yell at them. but DEFINITELY always ask for a ticket. Friends of mine who have been pulled over (whether they were guilty or not) and don't want to pay the mordida just calmly insist that if they did something wrong, that's fine! I'll take my ticket, please. It usually works, although it might take a few minutes. Here's what usually goes down: 1. If the driver IS guilty, they will either get an INEXPENSIVE ticket, or just get off with a warning. 2. If the driver isn't guilty, the police will get tired of Bullshitting and go away after awhile. My recommendation: Just admit to wrongdoing (even if you didn't do anything) and keep on insisting that you have no problem paying a ticket. They'll try telling you the ticket will be really expensive (it won't be, if such a ticket exists), they'll tow your car (they can't), etc etc. It's all bullshit. Just say, "Oh I don't mind! It was my fault anyway" and there's not much else they can do. Also, never EVER drive drunk in Cancun. They can definitely screw you over if they catch you.
'what gets your goat' is a common saying here in Heywood, Lancashire, England so its nice to hear it in use on the other side of the pond. In one of the first posts of this thread Tori wrote '' But what get's my goat is the importance of Gas, but having to sit around and wait for it is what has annoyed me the most so far '' I must admit I had a chuckle at what I first thought you meant :doh: I thought how considerate ... to wait for gas before you went out
Thats very useful, thank you, as for drink I will never even touch one beer if driving, even more so out here. Thanks again.
Here is what gets my goat: When a waiter tells me that the restaurant does cannot accept credit cards because the computer system is down or they lost their telephone communication. What a coincidence that it happens as soon as we have to pay the bill. This excuse has been used twice. It worked the first time as we ended up paying cash ($1,000 pesos) but, the second time, We did not have cash and miraculously, the system came back "Online" and we paid by credit card. I would guess that the "cash" payments may not make it into the owners pocket. Another "trick" I noticed that waiters use, is to give us the yellow portion of the bill at the end of the meal since it is harder to read and then they write in pen on it the US$ equivalent so it is even harder to see what we are being cahrged for. One waiter told us that the gratuity was not included but after squinting at the bill, we noticed that it was included. The waiter played dumb and said that the usually do not include the tip. The two restaurants that we had this problem at was Jugo de Limon in La Isla and Frida in Playa del Carmen. The sad thing is that the food was great in both places (and the view at Jugo de Limon was nice since they have sharks and dolphins swimming around) but, due to the waiters trying to scam us, we will not go back. Also, on both occasions, we were 1 of only 2 or 3 other tables in the restaurant. Another thing that "Gets my goat" (in Mexico in general) are the cheap paper napkins. Do you think they can get them any thinner? I use about 50 (slight exageration) of them during a meal.
Pocodinero: That's only happened to you twice? I can't tell you how many times the system goes down at locales here. (not always a scam though... too many times it really has been down! Mostly at Starbucks) Yes! The napkins! I always go through so many of those that it gets embarrassing.
how they cut in line in the fast lines at the super market ,u are there standing ,waiting like a civilized person and some crazy lady comes and sees a vacant checkout and takes your place...I had this happen sooooooo many times in chedraui centro...ANNOYING!!! Personal space,im not even foreign but Im from mexico city and I hate people standing too close to me ,in lines or wherever if i walk a step forward IT IS NOT so u can get closer to me from a diff perspective ,its c uz I NEED SPACE !!! pEOPle using horn only to make noise, soccer games,lot of traffic,etc ,from what i recall it was there so people know before u are about to run them over ! not so u can play with it ...of course people like to use it to make noise Bad repair men! I had my laptop repaired cuz it wouldnt turn on...ok i get it back...no sound,then i give it back ,two keys didnt work...wtf!! i was afraid to take it back lol maybe next time it wouldnt turn on ...losers!! How they run after u when they dont like your tip. Oh and how when u move from ur table..that was in Vanity club ...they ask u if ur not gonna want it anymore...dunno how they act when they are out and about but as far as i know if im in a nightclub ,sometimes i stand up and DANCE WTF so we got to sit still so we dont lose our table...!!
