AMET record system works?

[MikeFisher]

when i took my Truck from the garage in higuey on wednesday, it was too late in the evening to meet anybody,
maybe i get it together next week's weekend, as i bring it again to the garage friday morning and pick it up saturday Noon, for a new paintjob this time.
so it should work out either day to meet a buddy's friend of the heads of AMET in higuey, maybe for lunch, to ask what has to be done with the old ticket.
the new one will be paid these days anyways.
as unimportant as that stuff is,
i would run wild to try to renew my license in 2017 and been told to come back an other day, as i have open tickets on my listing, lol.

Mike

 

[dv8]

i would run wild to try to renew my license in 2017 and been told to come back an other day, as i have open tickets on my listing, lol.

this would kinda suck donkey's balls, especially if someone drives on a daily basis. i know a guy who took few weeks to clear his record (the ticket was paid and yes, he kept the receipt) in order to renew his licence.

 

[MikeFisher]

will see next weekend what comes out of da "Lunch" meeting.
i sure will ask and report here what he suggest's for the average person on da road, to do, if such ole shyt inappropriately shows up on the records.

Mike

 

[lekka]

Providing important information on Police in the Dominican Republic

I am telling you this story as I was having a severe situation with the police.

Having already been to South America and the USA for an exchange semester, as well as having worked in Asia for a while I always was very keen on being safe and wanted to avoid an interference with the police. I always said to myself to be aware and as long as I will keep my eyes open and act not stupid, I will be able to have a nice experience.

Here in the Dominican Republic I was the first time that I experienced something very threatening. I was traveling to Punta Cana by plane and from there drove with a rental car to Santa Domingo. With me was my girlfriend and therefore I wanted to stay out of trouble even more. In Santa Domingo we stayed overnight and were planning to go to Cabarete where we booked a hotel for kite Surfing.

However just as we were entering the highway, we were pulled over by a cop (AMET officer). He asked me to show him my licence. When checking my licence, he wanted to open the rear door. He told me to unlock the rear door what already appeared weird to me. When I unlocked the door, he entered the car, sat behind the co-driver seat, where my gf sat and told me to drive straight.
Having a thousand thoughts in my mind I was trying to figure out if (1) it is normal in DR that the police enters the car (2) drives with you to a police station (3) this guy was a real cop (4) if he was a real cop, was a corrupt cop.

I was rather nervous and after a couple of minutes I was rather impulsively demanding to see his ID. He finally showed me his ID and told me to drive further straight. He told me that we are going to have a lot of problems as I was driving over a red light - even though it was on a highway where he stopped me and there was no stop light anywhere. He also demanded to see my passport but I told him that I have it in the hotel, as i did not want to make any further mistake. Him sitting right behind my gf made me very nervous and i was still afraid that he was no real cop even though he also spoke into the walkie talkie to some person who probably was the "Command central".

Seing a military police car with three officers at the side of the road made me pull over and drive directly to them. We were signing them to come over and they told us to open the rear window of the car so they could speak with the officer - however, after just telling them just a couple of non-understandable words, he smiled at them and they told us to go on driving.

I was just thinking to myself WTF ... We were driving further and I told the officer that I have been to many placed and never ever was any police officer entering my car and demanding to drive to the police station with him.... NOWHERE ... furthermore we were telling him that there was no red light and that we want him to get out of our car.

After an ongoing discussion - with him even pulling out the handcuffs as an attempt tho threaten me - he was demanding 8000 Pesos. I ended up giving him 150 Dollar (around 6000 Pesos) and he finally gave me my DL and got out of the car.

Still in rewind this whole story is crazy to me and I decided to write about it and warn other people who might neither expect something like this.

Doing research on the police in DR it came out that the police is privatized and not a state organization (Except the military police which did not seem to care regarding my incident).
Within these privatized police branches, AMET is the traffic police. As I read in the threats, they are supposed to be not as criminal al Police Protectiva and Police National. However it seems that in DR you cannot even count on those statistics - you cannot count on much except that people want to rip you off. AMET is known for giving tickets without a reason to poeple just to collect money - however an AMET police officer entering your car and driving with you ... that, I did not even read in any other story.

As a european, US-American, Canadian, Australian, you have a certainly different picture of the police. As many other theats/blogs about this topic suggest - in DR you rather stay away from cops instead of expecting any help from them. But what would I have done differently in this situation?

Lessons learned:

- Many people argue that if a cop wants to pull you over, just di not stop - this sounds rather drastic and you might think that this might even create more problems, however in rewind I would rather have chosen not to stop at all, as I would have had less troubles (at least if the police officer has no car, which is often the case)

- However, if you decide to stop - rather carry a copy of your licence with you and hand this to the officer - not the original one.

- If the officer gives you a ticket you still can decide if you want to pay it, if you gave him a copy of your licence - otherwise you will need to pay in order to get back the original licence - lso never give them your passport!

- If the officer tries to enter your car there is only one thing to do - one thing only - drive away!

 

[VJS]

That was just a regular Christmas drive for a DR policeman, now he has some cash to buy booze and hit a couple of cabanas.

The police in DR have no right to enter your vehicle without your consent - at least as far as I know. No way in hell I am letting one inside my car and I make sure the car is locked when stopping for police - once they are in your car, you will *have* to pay to get them out. As far as advice for not stopping - not always possible, and not always wise if you want to avoid bullet holes and some form of detention and a larger payoff. A few minutes of chit chat is usually enough for PN to realize they are wasting their time with you and it's time to look for an easier target.

 

[VJS]

I'm probably the only person on this board who had a policeman get in my vehicle (Jeep Wrangler topless) and 15 minutes later we were tossing down a cold one in a colmado like we were long lost friends..

Let me guess: you were the one who paid for the beer.

 

[MikeFisher]

That would be great. Maybe it would get a small percent of the motos off the road. Most of them don't seem to understand that a red light means STOP.

almost none of the Motos and many of the cars have any license plate in place, at least not at the spot which a camera would be pointed to.
would need some kinda magic to make cameras for license plates worth the bucks spent on 'em.

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

I also had a cop climb into my car and demand that I drive to the impound lot where my car was kept overnight until the fine was paid the next day.

fines for traffic light or similar violations do NOT have to be paid on the spot, not even the same day or such, that's Nonsense.
you get a ticket and a ticket can NOT be paid to any officer on the spot.
it is OBLIGATORY to pay tickets at Banco de Reservas, on what ever day you wish to do so.

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

I'm probably the only person on this board who had a policeman get in my vehicle (Jeep Wrangler topless) and 15 minutes later we were tossing down a cold one in a colmado like we were long lost friends..

you got da drift, lol

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

Maybe I should remove my license plate?

only if you speak perfect spanish and learned how to handle things here in DR.
then you will not have any troubles at all, but then you have no need to remove your license plate either, lol.

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

Right, they kept my car locked up in their lot until I returned the next day with the receipt of having paid the fine. There was a guy who came up to me before I left the lot saying in English that he was authorized to pay the fine for me and if I gave him the money $50.00 he'd be back shortly with my receipts and I wouldn't have to do anything except wait for him to get back. I didn't fall for that! It was already 5:00 PM when he approached me reinforcing in my mind that it was a phony offer.

sounds like you did something very bad to get your car taken in.
for a simple fine like red traffic light, talking on the phone, no seat belt etc you don't get your car taken in, you just get a ticket and go on on your way.
sounds like you are the bad boy.
correct, that was most likely a phony offer.
my partner had it once, 4-5 years ago.
he got a ticket for a red light.
the form filled in correctly and all that stuff.
the nice officer offered to pay it for him, so he gave him the 1.500.- pesos(more or less, not 100% sure on teh sum now) and drove on.
sure the ticket never left the AMET computer system, he finally paid it again this summer 2015, when he found it on the AMET online site, where i found myself also "ole stuff" for myself, lol.

Mike

 

[dom]

so as it seems they only register it on the cedula number, what if i only have my foreign passport with me ??

 

[MikeFisher]

so as it seems they only register it on the cedula number, what if i only have my foreign passport with me ??

didn't check by license plate since a while, but years ago i could look up my traffic violations choosing between using my cedula number and also the license plate instead.
driving on a foreign license, i guess it depends in who's name the vehicle is registered.
if it is registered in Your name, the foreign license doesn't matter, it show's the same name.
if it's a rental car or the car of someone else, maybe they keep the vehicle then til you come back with the receipt that you paid the fine.
that's the way it was during the first years with AMET here, the vehicle stayed on the spot and you had to "travel"(by moto or bus or whatsoever) and come back with the receipt to get your vehicle back, for an other extra "propina" of course, lol.
and during the first years you could not pay the fines at a bank around the corner,
for the Bavaro/Punta Cana area we had to travel to Higueyand spent hrs there in line at their office to get a focking 50 pesos fine paid to travel back and get the vehicle out.
"good" ole times tho.

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

so as it seems they only register it on the cedula number, what if i only have my foreign passport with me ??

i just reread and understand you wrote foreign "passport".
without a driver's license a passport is worth shyt, the vehicle get's impounded and they can also keep you for further "inspections".
it is a drivers license which you need at hand

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

So are they gonna stop me from renewing my Tennessee license if I don't pay their fine? I alrewady have the state of North Carolina with a hold on that. And that is for something from 20 years or so ago!

i don't know about any Tennessee or NC licenses, as nobody in this country would care about such.
if you don't have the proper DR license, you need to show a up to date foreign license including the proof at hand that you are here since no longer than 30 days,
or you can be taken in for furtherinvestigations.
simple rules.
valid driver's licens, all fine.
no valid driver's license, stupid.

Mike

 

[caribmike]

1 1/2 years ago or so I received a ticket for "ignoring" a red light in Higuey (I went that route first time and there is a traffic light at a "cruce" where you have to guess if you have to stop or not, I did the same as the locals -ignoring it- and was stopped probably b/c I am a gringo).

Ticket never showed up in their online system.

A couple weeks ago me and my better half went on a daytrip to Samana. There was a big traffic control (AMET, PN and Military) stopping traffic from both directions.

We were stopped and asked if we carry weapons and to show my papers. Unfortunately I had no copy of the Matricula with me (I gave the one I had in my car to the delivery guy who brought me my Matricula to my home and forgot to replace it...).

PN guy went over to AMET guy and came back after like 20 minutes. I explained myself to AMET guy, he believed me and told me that by law they would have to confiscate my car until I can show them a Matricula. He went on and said since he believed my story he would leave it like that and only give me a ticket yet he does not know what the PN guy will do about it...

Patience over. GF gave a call to her uncle (Army Colonel), passed the phone to AMET guy. AMET guy went for two minutes talking on the phone, came back, gave us the phone, told us we are free to go and wished us a nice trip. NO ticket, nada. Nice, how they respect ranks .

Conclusion: Yes, it works!!! (For me, lol)

 

[MikeFisher]

And that is why they impounded my car over night, because they noticed that I am an Illegal alien aka a Wetback!

if they would notice such, which for most cases i doubt as AMET is not on the IMI payroll, then i would appreciate it.
take te illegal scumbags out and send them over to IMI for a few months of investigations prior to deportation.
keep their vehicles and sell 'em on the streets in pieces, to add to the family's christmas table.
nothing wrong with that one.

Mike

 

[MikeFisher]

1 1/2 years ago or so I received a ticket for "ignoring" a red light in Higuey (I went that route first time and there is a traffic light at a "cruce" where you have to guess if you have to stop or not, I did the same as the locals -ignoring it- and was stopped probably b/c I am a gringo).

Ticket never showed up in their online system.

A couple weeks ago me and my better half went on a daytrip to Samana. There was a big traffic control (AMET, PN and Military) stopping traffic from both directions.

We were stopped and asked if we carry weapons and to show my papers. Unfortunately I had no copy of the Matricula with me (I gave the one I had in my car to the delivery guy who brought me my Matricula to my home and forgot to replace it...).

PN guy went over to AMET guy and came back after like 20 minutes. I explained myself to AMET guy, he believed me and told me that by law they would have to confiscate my car until I can show them a Matricula. He went on and said since he believed my story he would leave it like that and only give me a ticket yet he does not know what the PN guy will do about it...

Patience over. GF gave a call to her uncle (Army Colonel), passed the phone to AMET guy. AMET guy went for two minutes talking on the phone, came back, gave us the phone, told us we are free to go and wished us a nice trip. NO ticket, nada. Nice, how they respect ranks .

Conclusion: Yes, it works!!! (For me, lol)

it works, yes.
and also,
they had all rights to fine you or keep even your vehicle, Mike, as you did not have shyt about car paperwork at hand.
and you knew it.
nothing wrong with their behavior you described above, they did it the right way and if someone knows somebody, things go smoother.
so what?
it is IMHO absolutely fine those both ways.

Mike

 

[caribmike]

Yes, I know AMET was right and I admitted it. That's why I was so surprised to get away like that...

 

[MikeFisher]

Yes, I know AMET was right and I admitted it. That's why I was so surprised to get away like that...

with the right person on the phone
you can shoot someone and go away with it,
that's Island Rule

Mike