watch where you park in medellin

Mononoke28 says on Jan 16, 2009, 13:49:

So when you came out where was the guy with the rag? He split?

Diana

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pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jan 16, 2009, 14:44:

mranderson says on Jan 16, 2009, 17:03:

The guy with the rag was still there. In fact when he saw me he ran up to transito to tell them to unload my bike.

I said the transito guy was a prick, basically because he wouldn´t listen or answer any simple questions I was asking him but he could have been a lot worse. He could have given me another ticket for not having a colombian license since I´m not a tourist here. All I had on me was a photo copy of my texas license with doesn´t even have a motorcycle endorsement.

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mranderson says on Jan 16, 2009, 18:42:

Yea pedro it does hurt. Especially since I haven´t worked in a month. One of the main reasons I have to fight this is because I just don´t have the money to pay it. So hopefully the stupid gringo act will work. Unbelievable how a parking ticket can be half a month minimum salary.

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webmanco says on Jan 16, 2009, 19:16:

If they manage to take the bike away they would charge $70.000 pesos for towing, same as a vehicle. This is in Bogotá. They take the cars and motorcicles like professional thieves

No hay extremo cierto o verdadero, porque los extremos opacan, enruedan, (lavan cerebros) verdades. Yotas

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Lowell says on Jan 17, 2009, 06:00:

I usually park my moto at Exito or other big business and walk to what I need or use one of the many pay to park lots.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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Lowell says on Jan 17, 2009, 06:00:

Fines here at very high for all violations.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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Bunyipcatcher says on Jan 17, 2009, 07:12:

Yeah its a crock! Same thing happened to me here in Bogota. I was on my way to drop off the kids after kindy at their aunts. Heading along the parallela you pass buses parked in a lane causing traffic jams, taxis doing the same. Head in to the suburban part. Park the car up on their driveway. Its off the road. There is space for ppl to walk past on the footpath. Inside dropping them off then we hear a loud speaker, kinda strange. Then again asking for the owners of cars to come outside. Same ticket $248k. And the most ironic thing was that I could go to traffic school to learn the rules and save 10% off the ticket. This was in a suburban street. The police here are so out of touch with reality.

As for the license. You dont need a Colombian license. My ozzi license has been enough for them.

Good luck with fighting the ticket. Let us know how you go.

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panthdave says on Jan 17, 2009, 09:46:

Traffic Violations in Colombia are pricey I would have to say...and you have no fight...based on two experiences...

I am extra careful now.....and you better not forget all your paperwork...

panthdave Miami

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medefockinllin says on Jan 17, 2009, 11:32:

Did you not try to solve the problem with offering the transito a couple of billetes?
....this is the roadside appeal system that seems to always do the trick.

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mranderson says on Jan 17, 2009, 13:15:

I tried asking the guy how I can take care of this and he was completely unresponsive to my questions and just walked away from me. I guess that system doesn´t always work.

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bickerss says on Jan 17, 2009, 13:32:

thats an outrageously priced fine - how would most Colombians afford that.

Investment Strategy - buying when others are crying!! Offloading when others are gloating!!!

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bickerss says on Jan 17, 2009, 14:04:

Theres enough of them on the streets, and all the people I know who own vehicles would be mortified at having to pay such a large fine.

Investment Strategy - buying when others are crying!! Offloading when others are gloating!!!

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kenblanquito says on Jan 17, 2009, 14:59:

Regarding the fines for motoring and other offenses here, do you readers really think further encouragement is required to these corrupt people in positions of responsibility? As long as bribes continue to influence these officials, from this level upwards, then Colombia will never gain world-wide respect and people will join the police and transito department for the wrong reasons! I am sure that most readers are agreed that when yet another government official is found guilty of corruption, we are over the moon that he has been caught and is to be punished. But traffic cops are different I suppose. WRONG.
Take this type of incentive away and perhaps the quality of the personnel within these sectors will improve; better educated and morally-minded people will join up and also there would be better chances of being able to discuss situations like the original poster experienced without having to think about the bribery route. I have met some really decent police here and they are unbelievably helpful and cooperative, without having to provide them with "an incentive".
Us foreigners can play our part in cleaning up Colombia too!! If we mess up, we need to face the consequences, just as we would do back home. If we make a genuine mistake, perhaps we can explain our ignorance and get away with a strong caution. Better to face the official fine than line somebody's pocket!

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medefockinllin says on Jan 17, 2009, 15:37:

kenblanquito - it's not the minority foreigners here on PBH that you have to preach to...it's the locals. Bribery is ingrained in so many sectors of Colombian society and it's not out of the question that the very same transito had to pay someone along the way in some way to get his job.

Government officials in Colombia do not get "caught" for corruption....they just forgot to pay, paid the wrong people, or pissed someone off....and then they get caught. If the system was just..then Uribe would have been in jail 20 years ago.

Take it from me....if mranderson was a Colombiano, the transito would have found a way to accept the bribe.

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mranderson says on Jan 17, 2009, 16:23:

I wasn´t even trying to bribe. I was trying to ask him how to take care of the ticket as it was my first ticket in colombia. Although if offered, I would pay a bribe. I truely believe that I should have gotten a warning for what I did.

I could live happy exept that my moto is only 150cc and I want to sell it to get a bigger bike.

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kenblanquito says on Jan 17, 2009, 16:51:

medefockinllin
I know that we do not need to preach to the foreigners BUT we could set a good example, particularly valid if Colombians are in our company at the time. People can be educated, regardless of nationality.

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kenblanquito says on Jan 17, 2009, 16:51:

Or do we copy their bad example?

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Cheers Terry says on Jan 17, 2009, 16:52:

That's a bummer, mranderson. Good luck with the follow-up...

Cheers,
Terry

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larryrn says on Jan 19, 2009, 05:58:

Transito on Autopista Norte pulled (or directed) me to pull over on Saturday when leaving town. I gave them all the paperwork and a photocopy of my passpord. The guy insisted that he see my passport and my entry stamp (visa) as he wanted to make sure I hadn't exhaused my visa. I only had a copy of the first 2 pages - but he insisted that by law I need to carry my originial passport with me when driving. I was told this was not true - never carry the originial only a photocopy. So my question is - should I carry a recent photocopy that shows the entry visa stamp??

Larry
Larry

Your Source for Nursing CEUs - www.RN.ORG - www.RNCE.US - www.EnfermeriaSite.com - www.Enfermeria.US

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pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jan 19, 2009, 06:14:

kenblanquito says on Jan 19, 2009, 06:15:

I would only ever carry my original passport on visits to DAS etc.
I hope the guy from Transito was wrong; then again the thought of driving here I find horrific

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pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jan 19, 2009, 15:51:

webmanco says on Jan 19, 2009, 15:58:

kenblanquito
Better to face the official fine than line somebody's pocket!

Official fine = USD 150

None official fine = USD 10 to 25 plus saving some time.

The problem in Colombia is that authorities want to fine us poor colombians like if we are getting huge salaries.

Many times I go for the latter. Not all situations deserves a comparendo, in the law there should be some flexibility.

No hay extremo cierto o verdadero, porque los extremos opacan, enruedan, (lavan cerebros) verdades. Yotas

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kenblanquito says on Jan 26, 2009, 09:14:

webmanco
If nobody paid bribes then the authorities would not penalise people for minor indiscretions because they would not be bothered to see the thing through. Quite often I think they rely on the intimidation factor, which is why at the moment they win

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