My First Bribe

I did a U-Turn in Santiago which I actually thought was legal. Well it wasn't, I got pulled over by 2 cops who were very friendly. I lost my BC (Canada License one night) so when he asked for my license I gave him my Nexus Card. We started laughing at some guy going 40 with a flat tire talked a bit as best as I could then pulled out 500RD and he promptly gave back my Nexus card and off we went. I'm sure I gave him too much but it was the first bill i saw and was stressed!

What is the normal amount to bribe them with?

I realize this is normal for people who have lived here a long time but I am always nervous I will insult them.

I love this Country!!!
 

bizzyboneizo

Member
Aug 31, 2010
489
0
16
**** when i got pulled over for running a invisible stop sign he told a guy that speaks english on the street to tell me to give him 800 pasos or i have to go to jail i said take me to jail then he said you would be in jail for a day. well i dont care about the jail thing and i would of been like the guys that get arrested on the cop show and give them hell but when i said you work for my girlfriend father they was the best cop after. but even if i had no one to help dont give them money and just be tough
 

NV_

Bronze
Aug 4, 2003
710
6
0
I did a U-Turn in Santiago which I actually thought was legal. Well it wasn't, I got pulled over by 2 cops who were very friendly. I lost my BC (Canada License one night) so when he asked for my license I gave him my Nexus Card. We started laughing at some guy going 40 with a flat tire talked a bit as best as I could then pulled out 500RD and he promptly gave back my Nexus card and off we went. I'm sure I gave him too much but it was the first bill i saw and was stressed!

What is the normal amount to bribe them with?

I realize this is normal for people who have lived here a long time but I am always nervous I will insult them.

I love this Country!!!

Unless there was a no uturn sign (which are rare), then it was a legal uturn and you shouldnt have given them one cent, for that offense. Driving without a license on the other hand is enough to get you in some trouble if they wanted to be a d!ck about it. In this case, 500 isnt too much.

You did good.
 

NV_

Bronze
Aug 4, 2003
710
6
0
**** when i got pulled over for running a invisible stop sign he told a guy that speaks english on the street to tell me to give him 800 pasos or i have to go to jail i said take me to jail then he said you would be in jail for a day. well i dont care about the jail thing and i would of been like the guys that get arrested on the cop show and give them hell but when i said you work for my girlfriend father they was the best cop after. but even if i had no one to help dont give them money and just be tough

That will get you out of trouble here a hell of a whole lot less than just pulling out some cash and being done with it.

Unless of course you did nothing wrong, then stand your ground and do not allow them to extort you.

If you're innocent of what youre being accused of and are 100% sure of that, then stand your ground, nicely and respectfuly.

If you're even the slightest bit guilty of any infraction here, fess up, pay up and shut up.
 
We had a thing of nuts in the car he was eying up, maybe i should have just given him the nuts!
I have been pulled over about 10 times but i did nothing wrong so i didn't give anything. I just wanted to get on my way and $12 is nothing compared to $150 fine in Canada.

Thank you for your replies i will try nothing next time but the no license thing had me nervous! I am going back to Canada in a month so i will get my license there.
 
Oct 13, 2003
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If you did an illegal U-turn, you might consider doing the right thing and paying the actual fine. It was not going to be much more.

By 'bribing' the PN or AMET you are rewarding them for behaviour that they should not exhibit IMO. You are adding to the impression that 'bad behavior' pays and that those without recourse are there for the taking, instead of protecting. You are Canadian, I believe in Canada you would have paid the fine and not tried to bribe the police.

The behaviour of 'bribing' adds to the problems with law enforcement that everyday people here experience. You might not be affected by a DR$ 500 bribe, but if you will take a moment to think about what it would mean to the watchyman getting off duty who earn DR$ 10K for 20 days work - if he is asked to fork over DR$ 500 for no reason, he just lost a whole days pay, what are his children going to eat that day? And then we wonder why the watchymen betray our confidence and invites his ladroncito cousins to make some money.

Please, if you want to contribute to making the DR a safer place to live, where the rule of law is increasing rather then decreasing, we, as foreigners and Dominicans alike, should stop feeding the corruption where we can do so. We should set an example where we can, try to hold the PN and AMET to their standards and pride where possible.

I am not talking about putting up a fight when the PN stops you on a back road at night where there is no-one to see, but there are often circumstances where we can decide to do the right thing with little risk to ourselves.


As an aside I know the PN and AMET are underpaid. The resolution to that is not in robbing those they are sworn to protect and loosing the respect of the populace... No the resolution lies in the govt spending less on botellas and jeepetas and more on salaries for their professional services, so they can do their jobs and don't have to turn to highway banditry.


PS: In your case the lack of license of course played a role and you did well to avoid an offical citation. But what would have happened if you got into an accident? You know your insurance would be invalid right? You know that you would be liable for the other party and their whole future earning potential right?
 
Actually i heard a license does not come into play with an accident with insurance.
Can someone confirm this?

I will any day pay a bribe, that is why i love this Country!

Of course in Canada I would not try to bribe the police i would end up in jail! I would pay a $200cd fine instead. $15 beats $200 any day.

I will get my lost license in Canada in a month and when i get my residency here in 2 months i will get a DR license.

I like to take chances and so far it has worked out! I'm not about to not drive just b/c i lost my license! My wife drives and has no license at all. She just bats her eyelashes and blonde hair and blue eyes and there is no problem.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
11,747
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I did a U-Turn in Santiago which I actually thought was legal. Well it wasn't, I got pulled over by 2 cops who were very friendly. I lost my BC (Canada License one night) so when he asked for my license I gave him my Nexus Card. We started laughing at some guy going 40 with a flat tire talked a bit as best as I could then pulled out 500RD and he promptly gave back my Nexus card and off we went. I'm sure I gave him too much but it was the first bill i saw and was stressed!

What is the normal amount to bribe them with?

I realize this is normal for people who have lived here a long time but I am always nervous I will insult them.

I love this Country!!!

Are you proud that you are fueling a corrupt government, tell us?
You do realize the actual fine for an illegal turn is less?
Were they cops or AMET?
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
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If nobody here paid the bribes and just went straight to jail, who would be the winner? You sitting in jail which wouldn't be fun, and the police would never get the little extra they get beyond the pittance wage they now get. I couldn't imagine how nasty these police would be if they were never able to supplement their income.

But you are contributing to corruption, Right!!! The corruption will stop if we don't pay bribes! If you live here you are probably in some ways contributing to the corruption and if this hurts your feelings, best to leave. The high level corruption that robs this country of proper education, medical, and infrastructure improvements(electricity, waste collection, proper drainage)this is where the focus need be.
 

Aguaita29

Silver
Jul 27, 2011
2,618
271
83
I did a U-Turn in Santiago which I actually thought was legal. Well it wasn't, I got pulled over by 2 cops who were very friendly. I lost my BC (Canada License one night) so when he asked for my license I gave him my Nexus Card. We started laughing at some guy going 40 with a flat tire talked a bit as best as I could then pulled out 500RD and he promptly gave back my Nexus card and off we went. I'm sure I gave him too much but it was the first bill i saw and was stressed!

What is the normal amount to bribe them with?

I realize this is normal for people who have lived here a long time but I am always nervous I will insult them.

I love this Country!!![/QUOTE

You love this country?? Wow, not only you are bribing them, but you are also giving them too much. Don't you realize that when you do that, you just contribute to the problem??
 

monfongo

Bronze
Feb 10, 2005
1,202
145
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You wouldn't have been locked up your car would have , then you would have to go pay the fine and bring the receipt back to them to get your car out of jail , a lot easier to pay the bribe.
 
Jul 4, 2010
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The "I didn't nothing wrong" doesn't cut it here in the DR. Most authorities, including cops, are crooked in the DR. Understandably of course, considering their starving salaries. The have to hustle. If you can avoid bribing, go ahead. But don't fret it. Personally, I use the opportunity to hone my histrionic (in terms of imagination and creativity). I've given cops sob stories about being held up just minutes before being stopped. I've faked being an important VIP and scold them for not recognizing me. I've told them that I was broke and on my return through the same road I'll give them some many, etc. etc.
 

DOC1727

New member
Aug 30, 2011
285
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0
Welcome to the DR ways of doing business, would you rather have paid a big fine plus points on your record back home. Bribe is a normal way of life here especially when dealing with government officials at all levels.
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
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Yes, you should have paid nothing and had your car impounded for driving without license, all in the name of fighting corruption.
 

NV_

Bronze
Aug 4, 2003
710
6
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Actually i heard a license does not come into play with an accident with insurance.
Can someone confirm this?

I will any day pay a bribe, that is why i love this Country!

Of course in Canada I would not try to bribe the police i would end up in jail! I would pay a $200cd fine instead. $15 beats $200 any day.

I will get my lost license in Canada in a month and when i get my residency here in 2 months i will get a DR license.

I like to take chances and so far it has worked out! I'm not about to not drive just b/c i lost my license! My wife drives and has no license at all. She just bats her eyelashes and blonde hair and blue eyes and there is no problem.

If he was eyeing the nuts, the nuts wouldve probably been enough since the cops here could care less whether you have a license or not (unless theyre amets in which case, they care about everything when their boss is watching).

Driving without a license here is just stupid and asking for trouble. If you have an accident, there is a good chance, insurance will not pay out.

You will have a lot more problem getting out of trouble without a valid license.

With that said, ive been living here for 16+ yrs straight and have no drivers license whatsoever (amets took it away many many years ago). I have an expired passport in the car and i just hand them that with a sob story about how I was robbed of all my documents/wallet/etc.. Of course, I have to drive around with my head on a swivel and avoid certain intersections (pain in the a$$ but too broke to get legal).

Giving bribes to get out of trouble is the only thing that makes this country tolerable. With the level of inefficiency in this country, deciding to be a dogooder and not pay a bribe will result in you wasting precious hours (if not a whole day) paying a fine that will end up in bigger ladrones pockets'. I'd rather hand my money over to the muerto de hambre cop than to the fricken goverment millionaires.
 

VJS

Bronze
Sep 19, 2010
846
0
36
The official fine is 1,000 pesos, so you did ok - next time have a couple of hundred pesos bills ready (one for each cop).
 

Curacaoleno

Bronze
Apr 26, 2013
585
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We had a thing of nuts in the car he was eying up, maybe i should have just given him the nuts!
I have been pulled over about 10 times but i did nothing wrong so i didn't give anything. I just wanted to get on my way and $12 is nothing compared to $150 fine in Canada.

Thank you for your replies i will try nothing next time but the no license thing had me nervous! I am going back to Canada in a month so i will get my license there.
12 dollar is a lot for the regular dominicano.. or do they pay less? like a local rate?
 

NV_

Bronze
Aug 4, 2003
710
6
0
12 dollar is a lot for the regular dominicano.. or do they pay less? like a local rate?

a dominicano will just argue with the amet until the amet gives up or takes possesion of his car. if he does decide to pay up it will be after arguing and it may cost him a couple hundred bucks at most. But we arent dominicanos.

It all depends on what you did wrong. 500 pesos will take care of any driving infraction.