AMET problems

[Robert]

I have NEVER heard of an AMET cop asking for a bribe.
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but all my friends that drive here have yet to be pulled over by an AMET cop and asked for a bribe.

Most people that don't live here confuse regular cops with AMET cops.

Also note...

AMET issues tickets, they do not take money for on the spot fines.
AMET will not retain your license as it's illegal.

If you have problems with AMET cops, take down their badge number.

Most Dominicans bitch and complain about AMET cops because it's the first time any cops here have actually enforced the law according to the law.

 

[NALs]

In the first video I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except for that ONE AMET personnel who, like all humans, lost his patience.

HOWEVER, what followed speaks volumes to the level of responsibility and respect from the part of the AMET police force. The other officers quickly went calm the aggitated AMET officer and in a calm and very professional manner took care of the situation.

Who knows what would have happened if it was the National Police?

And its not as if there are not good National Police officers, but many NP officers would have taken advantage of the situation in the video to take a bribe from the driver.

Not just that, but the fact that AMET officers did absolutely nothing to stop the guy with the camera from capturing the event is quite something. If it was NP guys, they probably would have confiscated the camera or taken the video or done something to prevent the video taping from occuring.

-NALs

 

[laurapasinifan]

robert a lot of people here may have had interaction with AMET in the past....like myself... and the statement that they dont take your license, may be true now, but it wasnt last year. The AMET cop in santiago took my license... and when I went to get it back three days later they had a 6 foot high metal cabinet with 6 shelves full of bunches of NEW YORK drivers licenses all wrapped together in rubber bands!!!!!!!!! had to be a thousand or more..maybe much much more...

it took 6 of us looking through all the bunches, 10 minutes to find mine!

they had other cabinets that supposedly held drivers licesnes from other states.....so at one point AMET took licenses!!!

bob

 

[Robert]

robert a lot of people here may have had interaction with AMET in the past....like myself... and the statement that they dont take your license, may be true now, but it wasnt last year.

They haven't being do that for a while here in SD as it's illegal.

Look on the upside, things are changing, they are a HUGE improvement over the white tops we used to have. They are enforcing the law as opposed to not giving a crap and asking for money regardless of the situation.

We have seen a massive improvement here in SD. People now stop at red lights, pay their car tax etc etc. That's progress in my book, however painfully it's achieved.

At least they don't give out parking tickets at 3am in the morning

 

[Stodgord]

well there "MIGHT" be some confusion over "amet" and "police".....because other police agencys do give lot of problems to motorist, especially if they are looking for bribes....but AMET has been know not to be like that "generally"

Overall they are the most professional acting police in the country...but you know ther have to be a few bad apples in there.

I was ticketed in santiago on a narrow busy street...cars bearly rolling forward, and a AMET officer motioned me over for not wearing a seat belt...

the guy had to walk past 3 cars where the drivers were also not wearing a seat belt...and as I sat there while he wrote the ticket I could see that 80% of the drivers that drove by were not wearing their seat belts....

tell me it wasnt biased!!!!!!!

my buddy who is well to do in the DR and drives nice newer SUVs gets pulled over often as well... and it is because AMET only tries to hand out tickets to the wealthier people...maybe because they can pay....


I also got pulled over in Santo Domingo for the same reason...no seat belt....in a huge line of traffic full of people not wearing them...it is BS...

I didnt pay that ticket

the first one I did....took me three days to get my license back... and the fine was 100 pesos....all that BS for 100 pesos.

In santo Domingo i gave them a copy of my license , because I dotn carry the real one any more.

so now i am the freaking stupid neard wearing the seat belt in santiago and santo domingo...so i dont have to put up with the BS...while every other guy driving a car that is literally falling apart around him drive with no seat belt back and forth in front of those guys with out a worry to get a ticket.

if they were fair...no one would complain.....

the police national are a whole other story.....

Bob,

When you get stopped in the state for speeding or not wearing your seatbelt, does the cop stops writing your ticket so he can stop another motorist doing the same thing as you?

 

[laurapasinifan]

Bob,

When you get stopped in the state for speeding or not wearing your seatbelt, does the cop stops writing your ticket so he can stop another motorist doing the same thing as you?

dont be a wise azz.....you know that he saw the same 80% go by without a seat belt BEFORE he pulled me over.......

and I thought we were talking about AMET cops and no others, and especially not those in america...

but since you dropped the bomb, Ill say that a cop doesnt pull the last guy in a line of 10 cars going 80 mph over for the ticket...he usually just pulls the first guy that triggered the radar.......but that has ZERO bearing on what AMET cops do.......

my suggestion is that the AMET guys target a specific type of person..... are you suggesting that that just doesnt happen?????????????

bob

 

[aegap]

Laurapa, try and think positive, man. It could well be he cares more about your safety than he does about those other.

 

[laurapasinifan]

aegap...thanks so much for the tender reassurances....it really was unexpected:ninja:

I tell my gf all the time..i just need a pat on the head to calm me down ha ha ha

I dont worry about my safety when it comes to AMET....just a hassle

there are enough other things to worry about....like seeing what is in the road at night !! ha ha ha

on another front..what happened....did you finally KILL BUSH??? ha ha ha ha

take care

bob

 

[miguel]

Que se puede decir.....

Look on the upside, things are changing, they are a HUGE improvement over the white tops we used to have. They are enforcing the law as opposed to not giving a crap and asking for money regardless of the situation.

Makes you wonder if some of these complainers visited the DR back in the days, BEFORE AMET.

I remember that going to Boca Chica (or anywhere in the country), back in the 80's and 90's was AN ADVENTURE in itself.

Once, we were driving from Santo Domingo (El Naco) to Boca Chica and our car was stopped about 10 TIMES!!!.

It was so bad that we came up with a nice plan:

We cut newspaper pages and made them the same size as a bill and we put a 5 pesos note on top of some of those pages.

They didn't stop and look at the money, they just put it in their pockets since they didn't want people to see them taking bribes.

Back them it was easy. When they made the signal for you to stop, you drove a little far from them so they had to come to you, you opened your car windows and without any words being spoken, you handed them the money and they waved you goodbye with a handshake.

There was no time to waste and no words to be spoken. We knew what they were after and they knew it.

I always told my friends NOT to give bribes but they said that in order to get from one place to another in time, it was a MUST!.

Boy were they right!!.

Perhaps some of the members should witness how bad it was.

Only then will they see that AMET is doing a FANTASTIC job.

Ok, not all of them are perfect, but at least there are MANY that are. Back in the days, ALL those "mo'kers" were corrupted!!.

 

[jrzyguy]

well...this all sounds like great niews.

Indeed miguel....my bad experience was about 10 years ago. you couldnt drive on the highway between Santo Domingo to Juan dolio without seeing at least 5 places where the "little green men" as they were called set up business.

Great to hear that this problem has improved! I'll probably still stick to the guagua tho ;-0

 

[hjocelyn]

Hi Robert,

Ok, so let's relax...
Well yes, I accept full responsibility as I was in the worng- and by the way I only wrote this post...but was not upset, I think it is just a funny situation if anything.

-there was not one time that I was even afraid, it was just a matter of inconvenience. And I am not saying they did a bad job... But is it possible that maybe they can all get together and agree what is the law?

The problem is not just me and the AMET- but the fact that when I bought our car, I asked if there was anything else I nede to do-I was told no. There was a sticker on the car...Soon after, I am detained abt a 2nd sticker.

Another time, my co-worker was lending me her car to pick up some items at the grocery store. He license plate had been stolen, and after several trips to Higuey was unable to get the plates. She reported this to someone at teh Politur station and they gave her some sort of signed document. Of course, I get stopped crossing the station.

The seat belt thing was my fault, yes, and I always wear it- I just thought it was funny that the one day I get in the car for 2 seconds switching from one plaza to the next, I get stopped.

Everything was a minor stop...what I can't understand is that the penalty seems to change with each officer.

To comment on posts above, I have not had them ask for money for no reason.