Dealing with Balinese traffic cops

This afternoon I had a blast from the past. Over the last 4 years the amount of police road blocks have decreased significantly, especially when compared to 2003. Nowadays I don’t even make a mental note to look out for roadblocks, so infrequently do I see them. This after heading north from the roundabout at Simpang Siur, my heart almost stopped when a young Balinese male on a motorbike, came tearing around the bend of the 4 lane highway the wrong way, riding at max speed right next to the dirt. He almost wiped out a Balinese female who was coming out of the XL center. ‘What’s he running from?’ I thought.

Thirty seconds later I found out, a massive police roadblock was in progress, with many patrol vehicles and a dozen cops. It might of been possible to ghost behind a dump truck and blast through, but being a civilized chap, I calmly pulled over in front of the waving cop.

The officer spoke English and asked me how I was doing. Many of the police were unarmed and without radios. After showing the cop my tattered International licence, he noticed it was issued in 2003 (knew there was something I forgot to do). “You like to pay ticket in Denpasar court?” he said “Or you like to take care of it here?” “I shrugged “Okay then then, take care of it here.” “Fifty” he said.

It is highly improper to hand and Indonesian police officer money, otherwise onlookers might get the impression you were attempting to bribe him. The correct proceedure is to place it on top of something, such as your motorbike seat or the hood (bonnet) of his car. My 50,000rp lasted 2 seconds on the bike before dissappearing into his pocket, for safe keeping no doubt. When people say that Indonesian culture is based on pretense, this is a good example.

Newcomers to Bali should have all their paperwork in order and if a ‘solution’ is called for, act casual as if you’ve done it all before.