I agree with the above quote...getting pulled over here in NYC and most places in the U.S with ganja + car - you would have never been able to "buy" your way out for $300 with no court date or weekend jail..I would consider myself luckyOriginally Posted by Chet & Coleen
Deanna (aka DeeDee from NY)
Very risky to travel with ganja of any amount in Jamaica......
This song reminded me of this thread:
Sizzla - Solid as a Rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCWawwIiA1I
Blue Cave Castle '12, '13 '14 '15 '16 Catcha Falling Star '13 Boardwalk Village '14 '15
My three experiences with Jamaican police keep me from wanting any sniff of trouble, ever. I wasn't involved in two of them, but I saw the incidents up close...not pretty...there is no one watching the watchers so to speak...I'd never ride "dirty"...just not worth it.
The third incident is described here:
http://www.negril.com/discus/message...tml?1303242196
It is really the BEST advice for anyone going to Jamaica. If it's your thing, do it safely:
Leave the cigarettes at home.
Get cigarettes when you arrive at your destination.
You do not want to mess with the Jamaican Po Po.
Had you not ordered the curry goat, you might have been in big trouble ....
What about the Canadian girls?
Pretty frank discussion, including some long time travelers
It is impossible for me to speak to the riding dirty in Jamaica issue. I can count on one hand the times I have ever been in a vehicle in Ja w/o me behind the wheel. I drive. That said I will mention that over the years I have seen many many times travelers in gypsy/rasta cabs in a police stop on the side of the road with that what did I get myself into stricken look on their face, saw some out between the Riu's and Orange Bay the other morning with the contents of their luggage strewn on the verge.
I can speak to the driver stops in Ja. I got to thinking last night and realized that I have with all trips combined over a years experience of driving Jamaican roads. Much of it is not just a run to HiLo, a good day for me is to pick up kids in the hills and run them to school in Green Island and then cut back up and over to a friends farm on the south coast. A thrill is to pick a road on the map that goes from A2 on the south coast to A1 on the north with a stop in Mandeville or MoBay. Thank god rentals do not charge mileage in Jamaica.
I should note that I'm a 50 plus male and I have never had an officer ask me if I work out, laughing with you kat.
That said I have been involved in about every type of stop available in Jamaica. From seat belt checks to radar stops to very serious JDF searching for weapons and drugs stops. I should note that for every stop I have been in I have driven through countless others.
To be educational to potential drivers here are my opinions.
Never never drive dirty in Jamaica, I have had officers take a car apart for no reason. Was I scared or intimidated, not really, if the are getting weapons and drugs off the streets more power to them. That which keeps me and my family safer I cheer.
In all of the stops have I ever had the feeling that this was a "give me a little something something" stop. Not really, I control the flow of the conversation.
That said, there are traffic laws in Jamaica. Have I been stopped for 80 in a 60, have I been stopped for 90 in an 80, have I been stopped for no seat belt? Yeas to all. Have I been issued a ticket everytime? No I control the flow of the conversation, yes sir, no sir, I was watching the beautifal countryside versus my speed gauge sir. I treat a stop in Ja the way I do the multiple hits I take in the states, it is my perception that controls the conversation.
That said have I ever paid a tax on the side of the road. I am ashamed to say I have and that it was at my instigation. I was doing wrong and didn't want to go to the department of revenue and pay a ticket. If you read the papers in Ja you will notice that they are cracking down on police extortian right now, I would be very careful what I talked to an officer about.
Have I been to the department of revenue and paid for a ticket? Yes more than once. Once again I was speeding, I did not have my seat belt attached, I broke the rules, the officer was doing his job. I do the same in the states.
Face it, we try to make it sound like the police are only extortionist. In some instances they are. But I notice every story starts with us travelers as guilty parties. I feel happy to have the officers on the roads and by ways, a civil society polices itself with laws.
I have won many awards in a lifetime of competition and service. But the highest was offered without plaque or fanfare on a hilltop in post Ivan Jamaica. A true Rasta and a dear friend observed "Chet you are like a father of men, you see need and fulfill that need without being asked". Let us be travelers and not tourist.
You framed the receipt.....lol!
Blue Cave Castle '12, '13 '14 '15 '16 Catcha Falling Star '13 Boardwalk Village '14 '15
Well yes, not everyone can say they have a 6,000 dollar speeding ticket on their wall, If I remember that was when the exchange had jumped up to about 90 to 1.
I have won many awards in a lifetime of competition and service. But the highest was offered without plaque or fanfare on a hilltop in post Ivan Jamaica. A true Rasta and a dear friend observed "Chet you are like a father of men, you see need and fulfill that need without being asked". Let us be travelers and not tourist.
Chet,
It aint a $6000 speeding ticket, you were guilty of two other charges man.... (grin)
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
Posting Permissions
