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Meeting with Transito


HarryB

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Monday there was a meeting with the state sub director of Mobilidad. State traffic.

His main points were

1. They look out for 5 items - seat belts, alcohol, cell phone use, children under 12 not in child seats, and motorcycle helmets. (His words not mine)

2. They went over the alcohol limits. When stopped if you blow .25 - .40 you get a fine $10500p. At .41 and up the car is impounded and the fine goes up and time in the drunk tank go up. They try to impound near the test site depending on if they have a local contract with a local tow company. There is no contract in Chapala.

3. LCS can contract to issue driver license renewals. Ben White , LCS pres. said they would also look into possibly also issuing handicap stickers. 

4. They said that the state traffic officers were going to patrol the state roads and the Transito Municipal would patrol the villages. At present the local traffic officers do not have authority to issue tickets. This may be settled by december. 

5. A member of the audience came prepared with various postings and facebook items about the state officer known as El Gordo.  These were delivered to the state officials.

6. In no case are golf carts and ATVs legal to drive on any streets.

7. I asked Terry Vidal if a meeting could be scheduled with the state and municipal commandantes in order to clarify their relative duties.

Dale Palfrey was at the meeting and asked more questions after. There will be a forthcoming article in the Guad Reporter.

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Thank you very much for filling us in. 

I am confused by number four. “At present the local traffic officers do not have authority to issue tickets. This may be settled by December.“  Our traffic officers do not have the authority to issue tickets”?

 

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Thanks for reporting. I will be looking forward to seeing if there is anything at all in future about El Gordo. Considering he has been terrorizing seniors for years, I find it very difficult to believe that he is "unknown" to senior officers in terms of his graduated pay scale...

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Thank you very much for this.  Alcohol, Cell phones and perhaps helmets I get, but there are a couple of priorities from the officials that are bizarre.  And, HarryB, I know you said his words not yours, so absolutely no criticism of you.

As we all know, a pickup truck with the back full of children under age 5 is ignored.  In contrast, seat belts inside a car where one is surrounded by air bags travelling at 25 KPH is priority number 1.     Similarly, another priority is an 8th grader riding inside a car without a child booster car seat.  Huh? 

BTW beware of the measurement system used to determine intoxication as it is different than standards up north.  In most jurisdictions up north .08 is the legal limit so the assumption is that .24 is 3 times as much.  But no, it is actually closer to the northern reading of .02  because the measurement system is different.  So pretty much one glass of wine with dinner can put you over the limit.

 

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Using Listerine mouthwash would put you over the .025 limit. It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with politics, taxation (ticketing is taxation) and misdirection -- i.e., look over here and don't pay attention to the billions and billions every Governor and every Presidente are stealing while you spend tens of thousands repairing your vehicles because of the potholes (some near my house that have been there for five years or more) because they pocket or misappropriate all taxes away from fixing your streets.

In the US, more was confiscated by the police from the citizens than the loss from all burglaries combined. That is just civil asset forfeiture, not the cost of tickets, driving schools, DUI schools (ASAP) lawyer, court costs, etc.  Unfortunately, I expect to see that direction occur here, too. The concept of putting the horse before thew cart, or hiring a police force before the laws are passed. Kind of the same mentality.

 

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26 minutes ago, Aquaponicsman said:

Using Listerine mouthwash would put you over the .025 limit. It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with politics, taxation (ticketing is taxation) and misdirection -- i.e., look over here and don't pay attention to the billions and billions every Governor and every Presidente are stealing while you spend tens of thousands repairing your vehicles because of the potholes (some near my house that have been there for five years or more) because they pocket or misappropriate all taxes away from fixing your streets.

In the US, more was confiscated by the police from the citizens than the loss from all burglaries combined. That is just civil asset forfeiture, not the cost of tickets, driving schools, DUI schools (ASAP) lawyer, court costs, etc.  Unfortunately, I expect to see that direction occur here, too. The concept of putting the horse before thew cart, or hiring a police force before the laws are passed. Kind of the same mentality.

 

I agree.

 

26 minutes ago, Aquaponicsman said:

Using Listerine mouthwash would put you over the .025 limit. It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with politics, taxation (ticketing is taxation) and misdirection -- i.e., look over here and don't pay attention to the billions and billions every Governor and every Presidente are stealing while you spend tens of thousands repairing your vehicles because of the potholes (some near my house that have been there for five years or more) because they pocket or misappropriate all taxes away from fixing your streets.

In the US, more was confiscated by the police from the citizens than the loss from all burglaries combined. That is just civil asset forfeiture, not the cost of tickets, driving schools, DUI schools (ASAP) lawyer, court costs, etc.  Unfortunately, I expect to see that direction occur here, too. The concept of putting the horse before thew cart, or hiring a police force before the laws are passed. Kind of the same mentality.

 

I agree.

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Just like in most other places, in Mexico it is mostly about revenue and very little about safety. Gringos in a car create more potential revenue than locals in a car.  Locals in a beat-up truck or on a moto offer even less potential revenue and therefore receive fewer traffic stops.  When you add in the family and friendly ties that local cops have with local drivers and the Mexican tendency to not be overly critical of friends, neighbors, or family...well you get the picture.  Don't look for things to change much with the new police in place.  If you get stopped, just take the ticket and don't offer a mordida.  That just makes it worse for the future.  You might be surprised how often the ticket is just more work for the cop and so it just won't get written.

If safety was really a concern, we all know what should happen.  Pretty much every time a motorcycle goes by, they are breaking laws and since they are most vulnerable they logically need to get the most tickets.  Speeding 4 wheelers with drunk teens driving on the back roads, especially on weekends, need to be given tickets every time they are seen.  Vehicles driving at night with no brake lights or other lights not working should be given tickets every time they are encountered.  People passing on curves or solid yellow lines, driving in the ciclopista, tailgating, not dimming their bright headlights, and driving home to Guad with a snootfull after spending all afternoon drinking in SJC should all receive tickets every single time.  But in the name of "safety" the police have other priorities.  We all know it and they know we know it so don't expect any miracles. 

Alan

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"One of the biggest problems in Mexico is foreigners trying to make it like "back home". Drive defensively and relax, think about what it would be like to have to go back there and live.................Ugh!

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30 minutes ago, pappysmarket said:

"One of the biggest problems in Mexico is foreigners trying to make it like "back home". Drive defensively and relax, think about what it would be like to have to go back there and live.................Ugh!

Well said and to the point.  Some gringos are so uptight and horn happy that they honk when the light has turned green but the car ahead of them doesn't go.......because there are pedestrians in the way.  Some of the older pedestrians are slow crossing, too.  (If you hit them, they make awful screams) . It's sometimes tempting to remain in the way,  get out of the car; go to the other driver's window and ask if there's a problem.

Have resisted, so far.........but.:angry:

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35 minutes ago, gringal said:

Well said and to the point.  Some gringos are so uptight and horn happy that they honk when the light has turned green but the car ahead of them doesn't go.......because there are pedestrians in the way.  Some of the older pedestrians are slow crossing, too.  (If you hit them, they make awful screams) . It's sometimes tempting to remain in the way,  get out of the car; go to the other driver's window and ask if there's a problem.

Have resisted, so far.........but.:angry:

Haha, funny story.......I had a co-worker in San Diego who was about 6'3" and probably 320#. He owned a Mustang and enjoyed taking a couple of us with him for lunch a couple days a week. When someone did that to him he would shut the car off ,get out and put a huge smile on his face and walk back to the car. "Hi, you don't look familiar, did you think you knew me?" Nobody ever messed with him but that was in the 70's when road rage was not yet much of a problem.

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12 minutes ago, El Saltos said:

So, no attention being paid to illegal left turns in front of Walmart?

Remember El Saltos, those are just suggestions. As long as there is no collision, no harm, no foul. My Mexican driver taught me all about it. Especially at Colon. Smile and wave to the Transito that knows you will be taking care of him at Christmas. :lol:

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6 hours ago, Yo1 said:

#6  ATVs and golf carts--what about if they have license plates?  Are they then allowed on back streets/carretera?

OK, here is what is totally confusing, a few weeks ago, after the announcement about the crackdown on golf carts, a woman and her friend were riding in one in LF. They were stopped and the cart was impounded. She paid to get it back AND paid for a license plate, which is now on the cart. This cost her pretty heavily, but she is now driving the cart all around with impunity. I was reexamining my decision as to whether or not to buy one due to this. Now, on Monday, it was said, once again, that they are not allowed on the streets, and here is this woman who paid thousands of pesos to get the cart out of the impound lot and thousands more to get a license for nothing apparently. Definitely cannot trust authority at all and I wont be buying one.

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4 minutes ago, luvsdawgs said:

Now, on Monday, it was said, once again, that they are not allowed on the streets, and here is this woman who paid thousands of pesos to get the cart out of the impound lot and thousands more to get a license for nothing apparently. Definitely cannot trust authority at all and I wont be buying one.

I'm guessing you have not been around lakeside all that long, apologies if that is wrong, but you have realized the truth of living here much sooner than some, and some never do. Tilting against windmills should be listed as one of lakeside's favorite sports. Congratulations on your epiphany.

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43 minutes ago, pappysmarket said:

I'm guessing you have not been around lakeside all that long, apologies if that is wrong, but you have realized the truth of living here much sooner than some, and some never do. Tilting against windmills should be listed as one of lakeside's favorite sports. Congratulations on your epiphany.

Length of residence and length of tilting against windmills not necessarily connected.:rolleyes:

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4 minutes ago, gringal said:

Length of residence and length of tilting against windmills not necessarily connected.:rolleyes:

........I think I catch your drift.................B)

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The thing is, this woman spent over 10,000 pesos, if I have got it right. If she is stopped again, she will need to pay out more. It is the gov't of Chapala who licensed the cart. I do not think I am tilting at windmills at all, I do know the corruption here and live with it. I refuse to pay mordida and ask for the ticket, but, I think this is over the top. 

On another topic, Lisa writes that there will be carretera closure during the nine days of San Andres? I am not going to buy a subscription to find out and am wondering if the "mayor" made an announcement why nobody else knows about it.

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3 hours ago, El Saltos said:

So, no attention being paid to illegal left turns in front of Walmart?

I was wanting to ask about this. What is the correct way to go west from the Wal-mart parking lot? I thought I would just do what everyone else does, but I have not seen two people leave the same. I have started taking the road behind the Auto-zone that is marked as an exit but that pops you out at the Domino's and it is impossible to safely exit there. My friends and family were SO wrong thinking I was going to get killed by drug dealers. That intersection will be the death of me I am sure!

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10 minutes ago, TheBestSideOfTheWall said:

I was wanting to ask about this. What is the correct way to go west from the Wal-mart parking lot? I thought I would just do what everyone else does, but I have not seen two people leave the same. I have started taking the road behind the Auto-zone that is marked as an exit but that pops you out at the Domino's and it is impossible to safely exit there. My friends and family were SO wrong thinking I was going to get killed by drug dealers. That intersection will be the death of me I am sure!

If I recall correctly ,there was a traffic 4 way light at Walmart allowing safe turns???

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