Local police in Cancun and the Rivera Maya to the South routinely setup bogus speed traps to nab tourists in rental cars and extort money. This video shows one between Cancun and the airport. These guys setup their tourist “toll booth” all day and pulled us over in the morning claiming we were doing 60kph in a 40kph zone and demanded $100 cash. At the end of the video you can see the guy behind us being nabbed even as a local pickup truck speeds by. The car behind was doing the same speed, about 10kph BELOW the limit. The local Mexican officials need to get this crap in check or they are going to do even more damage to a weakened tourist industry. The brazen nature of the extortion is amazing in the heart of the tourist area.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, Mexico is very corrupt, being able to pay police officers off for speeding fines is proff of that, however I found I only ever got stopped (in my rental car) if I was speeding and/or driving like a twat!
In 18 months of working in cancun and playa del carmen, as a Brit, I never got pulled over for driving slowly in my rental car!
As a Brit who lived and worked in Cancun for 18 months I drove regularly for work up and down the Main Cancun drag and to and from Playa del Carmen.
I got pulled over lots of times for speeding, each time I was 100% going over the speed limit, and each time (rightly or wrongly) i paid the cops off with a small amount of cash to save having my licence or registration plate taken.
sry for my horrible grammar and spelling but im not perfect , i dont know english so much
dont worry about that guy its very common to have jokes of cops like this because its just to foreigners its to everyone in the country… everything that had to do with the goverment is corrupted, its sad for me scince im mexican i’ve got to accept the truth.
and we can still change this but scince no one cares its almost imposible until a presindent does something to encourege people to do it…
im in favor wiht you, i know its wrong and its true, and leran this… stay away from them
Just stay away from Cancun Mr. Civilized. Stay in your country, we don’t need little senoritas like you. Tell your cops to quit stopping way to many foreigners in your country.
Seriously! Cancun was built and is populated by 5 million Mexicans for ONE REASON, tourism. That place would be a ghost town if it’s only fit for worldly “travelers” like yourself. I think I’ll learn German or French and be a ‘traveler’ in a civilized country with few corrupt cops that’s not descending into a failed, narco-terror state.
The caption would not open up to read the full description. Sorry you got “robbed”. If you had read The People’s Guide To Mexico, you’d be more of a traveler, less of a tourist in Mexico. The book teaches you to demand that you go to a police station to pay the fine officially & get a receipt. Just asking for that would reduce the “fine” to $20 or canceled on the spot.. Knowing Spanish helps, as it would any country with the local language. Blame the economy? Their’s or ours? Stop selling FEAR.
Read the video caption you idiot, I was robbed of $100. This video is of the return trip. Read the locogringo site. This is normal in Q Roo at least. Fluent Spanish will not save a tourist in a rental car from being bilked by these so-call cops. The down economy has made it worse.
I have been driving in Mexico on vacations for 25 years, never pulled over, no roadside scams. This video is just propaganda: did you get pulled over? no. And your point was…?
Easiest way to avoid scams and having to pay bribes: Learn SPANISH…duh!
Viva Mexico!!!!
True, if you are staying local, but in our case we wanted to drive to Akumal. We were back this month in Playa del Carmen and Cancun, didn’t rent a car, but saw the exact same “checkpoint” outside of Cancun on the bus. Sign said “Police” should read “Toll Ahead”. Rental cars have red license plates (green for locals) that make them very obvious.
You shouldn’t need to drive in mexico anyways, cab’s/local transportation is very cheap and efficient from what i remeber.
Mexico’s law enforcement is generally very corrupt. They earn a very low salary and often resort to taking bribes or theft.
Yeah, this place is too commercialized today. And, it has taken it’s toll by all the tourists. It was much different in ’97. But, still a wonderful place.
The Canadian government has issued a travel warning for Mexico.
And now you have drug cartels shooting people in that area. How long before they kidnap a tourist? not long IMO. The place sure isn’t what it used to be. We’ve been going for 15 years.
Spanish Translation so Mexicans can understand—–Esta estafa sucedió a un amigo mío en marzo de 2009. Ellos lo pararon para una infracción falsa de tráfico y dinero efectivo demandado. Ellos consiguieron muy agresivo. ¡Auséntese de México!
This scam happened to a friend of mine in March 2009. They pulled him over for a bogus traffic violation and demanded cash. They got very aggressive. Stay away from Mexico!