You’re riding down the road in the middle of nowhere when a policeman jumps out from behind a bush, says you were speeding and demands money. What do you do? Here’s how to handle bribes on your motorcycle travels….
Contents
Bribes and Corrupt Cops on Motorcycle Trips
By Alissa Potter
Mad or Nomad - RTW motorcycle travellers
If you’re riding down the road and a police officer pulls you over and asks for money, you’ll find no shortage of people saying that they’d tell them where to stick it. But it’s very different when you’re actually alone in the situation.
We’ve seen people react in so many different ways to this issue, from super experienced travellers clamming up and lost for words to quiet, gentle travellers who blew up shouting.
Everyone reacts and handles situations differently and every situation is different. There’s no single right or wrong way or a definitive answer. But there are tried and tested methods and experiences, which work most of the time.
So, we put together this guide, based on our experiences, to help show you how we’ve dealt with it and hopefully offer some advice that will ease difficult situations.
Before we get into it though, we’d like to say that if at all possible, don’t pay a bribe. It only encourages the officer to do the same thing to the next traveller. However, if you feel for a second that you might be in danger and it could take a nasty turn for the worse, then remember that it’s only money. Pay up, get out of there and report them after.
Smile and play dumb
Think of it as a war of attrition. It’s important to smile (pull an angry face and they’ll know they’ve got you). Smile and you’re a no-threat, easy going person. Mix that with playing dumb and after a while you’ll become a smiley annoying person.
Ninety percent of the time this will work. You don’t speak their language, don’t understand what they’re trying to show you on Google Translate and by the end of it you don’t even speak English. The idea is to wear them down until they’re just so bored of you that they let you go. Of course, this will only work if you are not in the wrong. If you were actually speeding or doing an illegal activity then expect to pay up!
Remember, they’re there to make money, every minute they waste with you they could be trying their luck with a local and they’ll want to move on as quickly as possible.
You need to be prepared to call their bluff. If they say they’ve got all day then be prepared to sit it out. Andy once avoided a bribe when he was told he couldn’t leave by setting up his stove in front of the police and making coffee for himself. He offered them a cup each and instantly all was forgotten.
Passports and papers
It’s a game changer if the officer gets your passport. Never give it up. Always carry a laminated copy of the passport page with your photograph on. If they ask for the original then it’s at the embassy (the dreaded word they hate – more on that in a sec). Same goes for your driver’s licence. If they get your passport, they’ll probably refuse to return it unless you slip them a large bill.
If you’re stopped at an immigration check or regular police stop, then handing over your passport to check your visa is very normal and that’s okay. We’re only saying to be weary of handing it over if you think a bribe is heading your way.
What’s in your wallet?
Opening your wallet in front of them is a big no. Assuming you’re opening your wallet because you’ve decided to pay up, it’s always a bad idea for them to see how much money you have – they’ll want more.
So one method is to agree, open your wallet and show you don’t have any money. A good trick is to keep a fake wallet with you. Keep very small bills in there, a couple of old bank cards that no longer work and a few receipts for authenticity.
This also works well when travelling in not-so-friendly places as a decoy for pickpockets. You can show the official that you literally have no money left and are on the way to the embassy/ out of the country/ to your friend’s house.
Other tactics
Some people go on the aggressive. If you’re going to do this then you’ve got to be prepared to go the distance and straight off the bat. It doesn’t work if you start of nice and then go aggressive – that’ll just make them think that they’ve got you.
It doesn’t mean shouting or being physically aggressive, but they’ll need to know that you’re an immovable force who will not give in, so you can’t change the way you’re handling it throughout the ordeal. This is a tough card to play as you’ve only got the one card for the whole situation. It also helps if you’re a bigger, more intimidating person.
There is a benefit to this situation though, and that’s drawing attention to your situation. Shouting, waving your hands around and telling the public that this man is trying to rob you can lead them to scurrying off sharpish.
Locals can be a help too, if they want to get involved. You can also ask locals (before you’re stopped) what the going rate for bribes is.
If they’re not giving in
Remember, asking for a bribe is illegal – but so is paying one. If you’ve genuinely done something wrong and broken the law, you should be given a ticket or the option to pay at the local police station. Offer to go to the station, say you’ll go with or without them to the station right now and pay. If they only want money there and then, then it’s very likely a bribe.
Ask for a ticket (if it’s official there should be a ticket), say you want a receipt (if it’s not official then they won’t want any paperwork and would refuse this) and say you’ll go to the police station to pay (if its official then they should have no problem with this).
Calling for help
Okay, so they’re not giving in and you’re tired of playing dumb. You should then move onto the embassy line. Pull out your phone, take a photo of the guy and just start waffling on about your embassy. Pretend to make a call, write down some random squiggles on a piece of paper, write down his number plate and make sure he understands that you’re calling your embassy and reporting him specifically. You can also state that you’re going to find the police station in the local town and report him. Sometimes, just saying ‘embassy’ is enough.
If they’re calling you out for speeding, make sure you demand to see proof. Where’s their speed camera gun?
If you have to pay
Well, it sucks, but if you’re left with no choice then at least haggle. Set a very low price. Often, they are trying their luck massively when they go in with a hard and high price. If they demand 200 USD say you’ll only pay 5 and then play hard ball on that. But remember, the second you offer up a price, they will know they have you and all smiling and playing dumb is out of the window. Stick to your low price and repeat the smiling and playing dumb scenario.
Demand a receipt, this may be enough to put them off bribing you in the first place, but if you’re paying up, be sure to ask for it.
Tips
- Never laugh at them or try and make fun. That will only agitate and escalate the situation.
- Don’t discuss money. No doubt they’ll make the universal sign for money by rubbing finger against thumb. Just ignore that sign – you have no idea what that means. They won’t believe that you don’t have money anyway.
- Think up a story, stick with it and repeat it. For example, your reply to “Give me money” can be ‘Which way to the shops… I’m going to the shops, can you help me?’ and then anything they say in reply you mistake for directions. It just gets confusing (fun for you), makes it look like you really shouldn’t be travelling alone and gets exhausting for them.
- You’ve probably got more time than they have. Just relax and let it take time.
- Having a helmet camera is a good move. No corrupt official wants to be filmed. But be careful as in some countries it’s illegal to film police.
They’re not all bad
Try not to go into the situation assuming that it’s going to be a bad one. I’ve been pulled over plenty of times, expecting the worse, when they only wanted to check I was okay or tell me politely to slow down. Sometimes the police (in places we’d never have expected it) just wanted to offer us cups of tea and share watermelon.
Most importantly, remember to stay calm, smile, be strong and hold your ground. If you must pay then it’s only money. Your safety is far more important. Good luck!
Read more on motorcycle adventure travel
Thanks for checking out this How to Deal with Bribes and Corrupt Police Guide. We hope you found it helpful! Here’s a few more articles on motorcycle travel that we recommend you read next.
Liked that? Try these next…
We hope you found this article on dealing with bribes while motorcycle travelling helpful. If you have any questions, please post your comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
Love this site?️✌️
Woohooo! Thanks Frank! Really appreciate that 😀
Hi I was just wondering, wouldn’t it be easier to just pay up and be on your way? HAs that ever happened where you just pay and be done with it? Ta
Hi! Good question. Yes, it would definitely be easier to pay up and be on your way, but the consensus is to try your best to not pay because paying bribes sets a precedence, leads to bigger bribes and makes life harder for the next traveller. Also, paying a bribe to one border guard can quickly lead to other border guards demanding more ‘taxes’ or ‘fees’ and police road stop fines can lead to more further down the road. It is a tricky one and does depend on your assessment of the situation at the time. Cheers
The story of cooking a coffee in front of the police/custom station is a burner!! 🙂 Freind of mine told me, a travel companion built up his tent beside the turnpike as long as the situation turned bad for the boarder guard.
But this scenes can run bad in russion influenced regions! The propaganda turned into a “non corrptional offense”, but isn.t the reality. On behalf of arrest they have the upper hand. They arrest you a week or more and demand horrible sums, or declare you as “foreign agent”. There’s a need to do otherwise… offering a cigarette… a Johnny Walker give away or sth. else.
But your advices are truly worthul, thank for it!
Kind regards, Henry from Germany
Hi Henry,
Yes, good point, what works for one may not work for another and situations can always take a turn for the worse. There are many different ways to deal with these situations and these are just some that have worked for us. It’s interesting to hear other people’s experiences too, so if you’ve had any similar situations, let us know 🙂
Cheers,
Andy
I think you should always have a camera on your helmet, once they notice it they ask if I’m filming them and start playing dumb and kind. I always ask at the migration if it’s legal to film police on a street, so far the answer had been “Yes”.
Hi Alex, what a great suggestion and tip! Yeah, a camera can certainly help – no corrupt official wants to be filmed!
However, it should also be noted that there are many countries where it’s illegal to film police – so always a good idea to check first.
Cheers!
Andy