Tolls

Yesterday evening, M and I were going shopping after work and went the wrong way down a one way street. That is not unusual here. Nobody cares what side of the road you drive/walk/cycle on. For the first time we were stopped by the police. Now they stopped us but there were cars passing along beside us. There was even a tourist bus meandering its way down the same road, same way. But we are whiteys and whiteys gotta pay.

Once they pull you over you have a choice - you can bribe the policeman who pulled you over or go to the police station and pay your fine. The fines are usually between $0.50 and $1.50, so it doesn't break the bank. We were advised to avoid the police station by our security man. If you go and settle your fine legally you end up having to grease the palms of every person in the station. At $1 a person, you could be out quite a few dollars if you take that option.

In our situation there were five policemen and M gave the leader five dollars and that was it. We drove off the wrong way down the one way street and the police happily waved to us.

It was the first time I've been in that situation - B gets pulled over or pulled off his bike on a regular basis. I had an irrational fear that we would be arrested for bribing a police officer. It's irrational because the only reason they pull people over is to get cash. Given that the police are paid $20 it's understandable.