Stopped!

I was fighting a nasty cold and really didn’t want to go to the market the other day. If I had only known what adventure lay ahead I wouldn’t have. You will recall in a recent post we mentioned that one thing that takes some getting used to is the fear of Tránsitos (traffic police). While there are good honest ones, they have a reputation of stopping you to, shall we say, extract some “pocket change”.

For us that leads to taking such measures as not passing them when there’s opportunity to linger behind, having an alternative route to get a passenger to their destination when necessary, filling the glove compartment with copies of Passports, FM3’s, a copy of the law, other documents and a list of numbers to call such as team leader, lawyer and director of police.

Never-the-less there I was on the way to the market when I was STOPPED. They asked for my driver’s license; they asked for the certificate of the operator’s sticker we received at the border; they told me it was expired. I assured them it wasn’t. (Actually it was but the law states that if your FM3 visa is current so is your sticker – even if the date has expired.) I gave them a copy of the law; they assured me I was wrong. I assured them I wasn’t. Eventually without explanation they told me to follow them. A couple of minutes later they stopped again, but by then I had been able to reach a friend and fellow missionary who spoke with them on the cell phone. He must have said something right because they handed me back my documents and said, “Until later.” I hope that isn’t an indication of things to come.

Addendum:

For you diligent readers let me take time to add some extra detail here. Approaching this issue is not as simple and straight forward as it might seem. First is the need for a clear understanding of the laws. For instance the FM3 visa/sticker law as stated above is not always understood even by the Tránsitios. Recently our team leader was stopped in Mexico City at which time he produced and explained the law. This particular policeman said, “Thank you I did not know this.” He was released but promptly stopped fifteen minutes later. And we continue to learn laws. For example, we recently learned that our vehicles and our driver’s licenses are considered foreign property and cannot be confiscated. Nice to know, but what do you do when you are threatened with your vehicle being taken?

Then of course there’s that ticklish little issue of “pocket change”. Even in the missionary community there is a wide variance of ideas on how to approach it. Some would say “pocket change” is a bribe and should never be indulged. Besides, once you pay, you became a target for more stops in the future. Some would take a pragmatic approach and say that a little pocket change is worth the time (possibly an hour or two) and headache that it avoids.

Believe it or not culture comes into play in this whole thing. While we may expect government officials to be basically honest, this is not the prevailing thought across the world. The idea of officials receiving “pocket change” is woven into the basic fabric of the society. It is understood by all that this is how the system works and it is no different than tipping a waitress who gives you good service in a restaurant. As a matter of fact government officials depend on these “tips” for their wages. That leaves some accepting it as a cultural norm, others refusing to participate in anyway, and a few sending gifts of appreciation later on.

Outside of law and ethics here is some other advice we have received: 1) Insisting “just give me the ticket” often results in being released 2) NEVER make eye contact with the police as it communicates guilt and will result in being stopped 3) Drive in the far left lane making it more difficult to be stopped 4) If stopped, get your entire family to stand outside the car creating an embarrassing situation for them “How could they stop that poor family?” 5) Hand them a laminated copy of their superior officer’s personal cell number and offer your phone for them to make the call 6) If there are two officers checking the car, one spouse should be with one at the motor and another with the one checking the trunk to assure there is nothing “planted” in your car