traffic cops in nicaragua have gone mad. late last year, they changed the traffic laws and made fines MUCH higher. infractions that were once 100-200 cordobas (now $4-$8 USD) are now 500 cords.

i just got fined 1000 cords for making a left turn out of a gas station. i was cited with making a "giro indebido" or unjust turn. there are no lines painted on the road i turned on to and the bloody cop had no patience or desire to explain exactly what i did wrong. i later searched the law for a definition of what "giro indebido" means and not surprisingly, there is no definition.

worse than the amount of the fine is the process. you still need to go to a bank to pay the ticket and then bring the receipt to the local transit police office to recoup your license. there are hundreds of reports of people having to wait 3-5 days to get their licenses back.

while you may still be able to pay a bribe to get out of it, i would advise against it, since they are more strict and you may end up being arrested for bribery.

be aware and ride smart.

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'07 DL1000 '08 DR650

Wow! Do you feel they are targeting foreigners? Or is everyone getting the same treatment?

As a traveler, did you present your US/UK/EU driving license to the cop? Or Nica ID?
Or a passport?

I always give them one the many expired California driver's licenses I have ... and carry with me in my "Dummy" wallet.
I also carry expired passports. These expired documents have never been spotted by locals.

It's good the cops are not taking bribes ... in the end ... better for all ... but not so good for the traveler in a rush.

Good luck ...! How's Nica these days besides the bogus traffic stuff?

$US40 is a pretty small fine compared to levels back home.

Probably one of those reciprocity deals. Chief of police was fined US$200 for not stopping before turning right on a red light when vacationing in the US, so has upped the ante back home.

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Might be worth manufacturing a job lot of driver's licences. Will be cheaper in the long and short term.

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Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

Or time for a trip to Khosan road.

everyone. hardcore. equal opportunity. though it is generally worse for a foreigner since you have limited time to mess around with their antiquated and very ass-backwards system.

they may be corrupt but they aint stupid and they certainly know what foreign licenses are supposed to look like, especially in managua. i give them an older but unexpired license. however, my uncle who is a police commissioner has informed me that they have begun tracking scofflaws. get stopped with an outstanding unpaid ticket, jail.

i didn't say they aren't taking bribes as i'm sure they are. i just don't feel a coupla bucks is worth the risk anymore.

nica is more corrupt every minute. many of the good trails we used to ride are being paved. still a lot to explore. civil unrest in various areas is making it a bit more hair-raising, but it's not stopping me and my buddies from riding.

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'07 DL1000 '08 DR650

not if you value your freedom....

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'07 DL1000 '08 DR650

The expired license I use is REAL ... just expired, but that fact is not obvious to the uninitiated. It's a legit document and legal as ID in most US states. In Nica? I would think they'd demand a foreigners passport?

If the cops are collecting bogus fines for bogus offenses ... and locals are being affected ... then hopefully this Police behavior will be brought to the attention of powers that be ... and if enough locals ban together and demand CHANGE, perhaps they can stop these practices? It's called Democracy. (we can hope, anyway! )

Good, keep riding and being ambassadors for motorcycling! "Unrest"? Who's fighting whom? We hear Jack here in the USA about current events in Nica. All about the Middle East now and IS.

Are working class, indigenous Nicaraguans against new paved roads?
I realize this bums your riding ... but as a guest there, I'd be more concerned for what the MAJORITY of people want, not what a few foreign motoqueros want.

expired is invalid. the nica cops know what "EXP" or "EXPIRATION" means and they look for it. in florida, getting a duplicate license is cheap and easy so i have one i keep on the bike down there.

fines are not bogus. they written into law last year but now ENFORCEMENT is off the scale. the cops DO makeup bullshit and accuse you of doing things you didnt do. last month was clamp down on moto month. there were checkpoints all through the country and every moto was stopped for doc inspections. no docs no moto. period noting to talk about.

there is always unrest in parts of nica, especially the northeast or RAAN area, which is heavily populated by indigenous miskito people. lately, violent protests against the grand canal bullshit have sprung up.

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'07 DL1000 '08 DR650

By "bogus" I meant "unfair" or over doing it. I realize the laws are in place and legit, but as you've cited, enforcement seems to target motos and some Policia make stuff up and lie. That is BOGUS!

So what else is new?

Hope things calm down there soon!

Sadly, few motoqueros spend enough time in any Cent. Am. country to really get a clue about the situation or even care. Most want to blast through as fast as they can. Biggest concern seems to be border crossing issues.

Shame as there is a lot to see and enjoy there.

What is the Grand Canal? Like another Panama Canal?

Re: Grand Canal ----Yea verrily it appears that Daniel Ortega , president and former purported revolutionary and anti -capitalist and claimed struggler for the rights of the downtrodden of the Nicaraguan nation has signed a deal with " a Chinese company" to build a canal across the country.
Just google "-proposed canal across Nicaragua " - and you can get lots of info .

It reads like a pretty bad deal for Nicaragua, a sellout and give-away of epic proportions , a devastating environmental disaster in the making , destroying great swathes of the natural country and also displacing many human communities , all without any environmental impact studies yet made , nor consultations with the affected people.
All of this so that Chinese super - freighters can bypass the new expanded Panama Canal , pay tolls back to China to ship more millions of containers of Chinese junk and haul back raw material faster and cheaper.
It seems the" Chinese company" is of questionable integrity and dubious technical and financial ability to tackle such a project. If it does go you can bet that most of the construction work will be " sub- contracted " out to shipped in non- Nicaraguan labour as there would not be enough skilled workers in Nicaragua . It may spur a breeding binge in Nicaragua but that would leave what remains of the country massively overpopulated and in poverty , a situation worse than it is now .

Hopefully this project goes the same way as an earlier 1960s proposal by some hare-brains to blast that same canal using " controlled atomic bombs" . Brilliant idea.

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

Nicaragua is getting worse. The cops there are mostly corrupt and are mostly looking for foreigners if possible.
They try to charge you for things you never did and tell you lie stories.
I lived there for more than 2 years and the goverment, the cops and the burocracy are some of the reasons why we left the country and live now in Mexico.

We still have friends there and they told me a story from last week.

The parents from a young german volunteer traveld with their kid with a rental car in Nicaragua. On the way from Managua to Leon they got stopped and the police wanted - and they got it - 4000 Cordobas because it was not allowed to take photos at a place along the highway


On the same trip back they got stopped 20 minutes later and had to pay another 3500 Cordobas for speeding in a school zone. It was already dark, there was no sign and no kids on the way.

The first cops probably called their friends and told them that their are some stupid Gringos on the way - easy to rip off.

These foreigners had no idea how to deal with this agressive and criminal cops and paid 2 times. Then they phoned my friend and asked for advice how to avoid the next 30 minutes with fines until they reach their home.

Totaly ****ed up.

Saludos from Mexico . . .

. . . where they stop you normaly only when you really did something wrong and here are no controls like in Nicaragua.