How much to pay the police?

[mastercaster]

Ya sensiblita? ... i don't do good at "reading between the lines" ... I'm more of a "say what you mean and mean what you say kind of guy" ... not psychic

Actually I believe it is you that has your "simple factual statement" backwards ... no offense ...

As BKT astutely points out ... and I didn't :
"Why single out the Chinese though? The Javanese and Balinese own these shops as well and sell the same helmets.
From my experience dealing with the Chinese you've a better chance of getting local prices."

I'm new to this forum,but, I've been in Bali a fair amount of time ... fluent in BI and traveled the archipelago somewhat ... over the last 20 years ... for sure don't know it all ... but,
I agree 100% with BKT ... you'll get a better chance of a deal with the Chinese & if you look , there is more chance of actually finding quality helmets ... or whatever you are looking for ... if you look around and don't limit your search to "Non Chinese" shops ... don't know why you said that .. except maybe a lack of experience ?

Reality check .. most local folks are all about cheaper is better ... even the rich locals ... finding quality products at a Balinese or Javanese shop is near impossible ...
Chinese are into biz & not always the cheapest stuff, they are the ones who for the most part will gamble on higher quality items for resale ...

Or maybe an Ex pat shop selling helmets might be a way to go ....

 

[sensibilita]

Yes, all things considered, that sounds plausible enough. I guess I have had some particular difficulties with unscrupulous Chinese businessmen ... but in the total weft of things, they may not designate the darkest colours at all!

The point about buying helmets is that you should ensure they are properly tested .... my brother-in-law, who is knowledgeable in these areas, once told me that in Germany when someone drops a helmet even once, they throw it out ... the risk of "hairline fractures" is too great, I suppose!

 

[mastercaster]

Yes, all things considered, that sounds plausible enough. I guess I have had some particular difficulties with unscrupulous Chinese businessmen ... but in the total weft of things, they may not designate the darkest colours at all!

The point about buying helmets is that you should ensure they are properly tested .... my brother-in-law, who is knowledgeable in these areas, once told me that in Germany when someone drops a helmet even once, they throw it out ... the risk of "hairline fractures" is too great, I suppose!

Ok, I'll give you one ... if you want a "real" helmet .. Made in Italy by AGV or a Bell etc ... not a knockoff ,
you can look in Helmet Galleria , Jl. Marlboro , Dps .. don't know the exact address .. south side of the road... they have allot of selection's , styles, sizes, colors including for children .. etc ... a good helmet will cost some Rp .. apx. Rp 1 jt up to 7 jt ....... they also have helmets from Rp 200k up if you want that quality ... owned by Chinese ...


Oh ya and back to the original question of how much to pay the police if you want to .. apx. Rp 50k per infraction ... for example ... if no helemt + no STNK = Rp 100k

 

[sensibilita]

payments to police

... well, last time I was caught as a pillion-passenger without a helmet was in Jakarta; the police had stopped us as we crossed an intersection.

I pretended I didn't understand any Bahasa, and looked nonplussed ... 10 min later the police let us go again. It cost me nothing. So much will depend on the officer. I would put the maximum at around 50k, too. And that's peanuts, anyway ....

 

[Fred2]

If you check a imported helmet, it was imported by a Chinese business person. You can buy quality helmets made in Indonesia. As for fines I never have paid anything. I only ride without a helment in our local area because we have no police:icon_biggrin:

 

[katek]

never break the Rule....that's the best way... GRATIS...

 

[sonnybali]

i like this topic..

till now I still have problem with the police...

 

[ivari732]

Gratis is best but 20-50k should do the job in worse cases.

 

[Markit]

I've found the cheapest way to deal with police stops is to offer a hearty wave as you go sailing past - don't stop!

I just love the rear view mirror view of the completely baffeled police looking at each other and weighing up the calculations - do I chase this one fecking crazy bule, abandon my post which will mean a potential 30/40 motorcycle riders getting away free.

Or do just say feck it and let him go?

So far it's been the later. Will report when that changes.

 

[Andani]

The most righteous solution is to let your Balinese friend to handle this thing, let the police give you ticket, never give them money

 

[Andani]

I've found the cheapest way to deal with police stops is to offer a hearty wave as you go sailing past - don't stop!

I just love the rear view mirror view of the completely baffeled police looking at each other and weighing up the calculations - do I chase this one fecking crazy bule, abandon my post which will mean a potential 30/40 motorcycle riders getting away free.

Or do just say feck it and let him go?

So far it's been the later. Will report when that changes.

I like this comment, he is right

 

[meerkat]

FOLLOW THE RULES (as you all would, in the countries you come from)...and you can save all the 20's and 50's and the troubles which tag along

this is spot on in my experience-

I got tired of it though and later tired of paying for a local license that was that needs renewing yearly…

moved on to using an international license - that and up to date registration papers - are enough

 

[gilbert de jong]

just curious...doesn't your international license need to be renewed every year as well?

I switched the other way around, using indo-driverslicense instead of the Int. (issued by NL)....the Indo license in my experience, alot cheaper and alot easier to extend each year.

 

[balibule]

My International license lasts 5 years and is overall cheaper. Not taking into account that I have to leave Indonesia to get a new one it is also a lot easier to get renewed and takes less than 15 minutes.

 

[gilbert de jong]

aaah..okidoki I understand,
the dutch int.lic. needs to be renewed yearly so I switched to Indo...wich also takes about 15 minutes to renew, but I guess that's dependable in wich office one renews :icon_wink:

 

[matf]

well before i got my indo licence i used to pay my way out of not having licence,stnk ect with 20s 50s 100s
untill one day in denpasar i got caught by a cop that wouldnt be bribed
i started to be a bit rude and cheeky

next thing i now i was landed with a blow to the stomach and it friggin hurt

if that didnt make me go get my license and stnk i dont know what would

all im sayaning is be carful they dont all take bribes

 

[meerkat]

My International license lasts 5 years and is overall cheaper. Not taking into account that I have to leave Indonesia to get a new one it is also a lot easier to get renewed and takes less than 15 minutes.

in own country International licenses from Automobile Association tend to be issued for one year-after all they are only an interpretation of the license you hold from your own country and if you're going to "visit" another country for more than a year...
you can be expected to get a local license in many parts of the world...however there are services online in america that can
issue you an 5 year international drivers Permit (IDP) provided you can upload your original documents that the "interpretation" is based on.

I take it that these are much needed & marketed there because of so many calls for two kinds of picture ID to do various
things there-
banking for instance

so yes it pays to get a 5 year when the opportunity arises rather than renew the yearly SIM A & SIM C here - it works out
cheaper (I paid about $35 for 5 year there)

note that more than 5 year is possibly not legal to use for driving in some countries-and being tied to drivers license will
depend on issue and expiry dates of the original too.

Later,when I can start a thread I will share a good blog on the 15 step process taking 2 and 1/2 hours & 125,000 rph
for getting a SIM (Indonesian Driving license) if you choose to "do it yourself" to avoid the costly agents fees

 

[meerkat]

Obtaining SIM A SIM C legally - Drivers license process in Bali

better still I have located the original thread and so rather than quote the author-you can read him - very clear and useful
Obtaining Drivers Licence in Bali HELP

post #7

 

[matf]

i have my brother here for 6 months he is wondering if he can get a bike licence without having to renew every month

he has no kitas no kipam and is on a social budaya visa

any ideas?

 

[matsaleh]

If he's on sosial budaya and he doesn't have an International Driving Permit endorsed to ride a motorcycle, then the only option is to renew his tourist license every month.