3 Proven Ways to Get Out of a Traffic Ticket in Bali

When it comes to driving a scooter around Bali’s tourist areas, it’s really a matter of WHEN – not IF – you get pulled over by the police. And chances are you won’t be singled out; More often than not, you’ll be one of about a dozen other cyclists (all or most of them uncannily Western-looking) who get stopped by a large group of police hanging out on the side of the road.

Back home, this would be similar to a “speed trap.” But in Bali, they don’t care about your speed. They’re not pulling you over because of how fast you’re going,but because of how you look – and you look like someone with money.

Before I share with you my tricks for getting out of receiving a ticket AND paying the police off, I want to make one thing clear: I don’t judge the cops in Bali for stopping Westerners for bakshish (aka a bribe). I don’t think they’re bad people and I don’t think that they’re wrong for trying to make money off tourists.

I’ve traveled around to far too many poorer countries not to already expect this kind of treatment. The average salary in Bali (and in MOST countries in the world) is a pittance compared to what many citizens in the Western world too often take for granted. So, I don’t think what they’re doing is in any way morally wrong. And, if you do, let me pose it to you this way: How many of you ever watched Disney’s Aladdin and thought: “the guards should have caught him, he’s a thief and he deserves to be punished for stealing bread.”

I’m guessing NONE of you have EVER thought that. Why? Because you’re a good person. And especially because you’re viewing the story from Aladdin’s perspective: You get to see WHY he steals the bread. You empathize with the fact that he’s hungry and he has no other way of surviving. You want him to succeed in stealing (even though, objectively, stealing is wrong) because you’re putting yourself in his shoes and subconsciously thinking that – in the same circumstances – you’d do the same thing and you’d hope to get away with it too so that you wouldn’t starve.

It can be hard to consider someone else’s perspective when you’re the one whose figurative “bread” is being stolen. But, chances are, just like the baker in Aladdin, you have plenty of other “loaves” of bread. And one small loaf being stolen by someone who is starving is NOT going to put you out of business.

So, while I AM going to tell you EXACTLY what’s worked for me to get out of having to pay the police AND to get out of getting a ticket, if you can genuinely afford to just pay them off (100-200k IDR = $7-14 USD) then I really hope you do. Because while $7-$14 may not be that much for many of us, it’s a LOT of money to a LOT of people in this world.

I’m sharing these tips with you because I recognize that while many westerners traveling on vacation aren’t worried about money, just coming from the Western world doesn’t necessarily immediately mean you have cash to spare. There are plenty of backpackers and poorer individuals trying to travel even though they don’t have much/any money. Or there are about a million other reasons why, in that moment that you’re getting pulled over, $10 really may be more than you can afford. I’m not here to judge you or your situation, any more than I would presume to judge the cops for extorting money from tourists. I’m just passing the information along for you to do with it what you like.

Also, since I’m pulling entirely from my own experience (a young, single girl traveling alone) I honestly have no idea how well any of this will work if you’re a guy or a couple, but it’s worth at least knowing what’s worked for someone else!

*I figured all of these scenarios out by chance. I wasn’t lying in any of the following scenarios (not that lying to get out of being extorted is wrong, I just genuinely am not that clever to just come up with these and I don’t want to pretend like I am), and that’s probably why they worked so well for me, because I’m an AWFUL actor… but if you have decent acting skills and you can really sell any of these as true I’m curious to know if they’ll work for you too!

Without further ado, here are three proven ways to get out of getting a ticket from the Bali police:

Stand your ground

As soon as they pull you over act obviously upset/flustered/frustrated (but do not be rude!).
Start immediately talking about everything you were doing right: “I’m wearing a helmet” “I was driving carefully” “Why I am being pulled over?” “I’m wearing a helmet, so why am I being pulled over?”
Assume the position of leadership in this interaction by speaking first; This makes it seem that you won’t be the easy tourist bribe they want. But, again, don’t be rude: hand over anything/everything they ask for (your driver’s license and the bike’s papers).
Most importantly, though, keep talking while this is happening and they’re looking at your stuff: “I don’t understand why you pulled me over.” “I haven’t done anything. I was driving very good. I was very safe.” “I’m wearing a helmet.”
Maintain this frustrated/confused demeanor and be sure to keep talking throughout. The cop will likely to just hand back your license and tell you to move on. (I’ve only tried this once, but it worked faster than anything else I’ve ever tried, so use with caution).

*This one likely works best with cops who don’t speak much English.

“I’m leaving in 2-3 days”

If they try to write you a ticket for whatever reason (not wearing a helmet, driving without an international license, etc.) immediately, and as sad/pathetically as possible, explain “But I’m leaving Bali in 2 (or 3) days.” You can say you’re going home or going to a nearby country like Kuala Lumpur or Thailand, but emphasize that you’ll be leaving the country soon (and you don’t have plans to return). Indonesian.
You should also apologize for whatever it is they were planning on writing you up for and try to explain it away (e.g. my helmet was stolen last night outside my hostel and I’ve been trying to find somewhere to buy a new one OR go looking for your “international license” in your purse and seem super upset with yourself and say that you must have left it in your other purse). If you have an explanation for why you’ve broken the rules and you seem very apologetic and distraught (again, do NOT be rude to the police officer, it isn’t his fault you broke the rules), chances are he’ll let you go with a warning since you’re leaving in a few days anyways.
However, if the officer doesn’t seem likely to let it slide and wants you to settle the matter (i.e. bribe him) now instead of writing you a ticket, then you should tell him (again as pathetic and sad and frustrated as you can) that you don’t have any money on you.
To make this even more believable you can ask him to give you directions to the nearest ATM so you can get money to give him (don’t specify the amount and only offer this suggestion if he seems like a real hard ass and isn’t just going to let you go).
- Once he tells you where the ATM it’s very important at this point that you actually go to the ATM (hopefully, though, it won’t be too close). Go to the ATM but don’t actually pull out any money. Just spend a slightly more than normal amount of time there and then go back to where the police officer was.
- Now this next part is VERY important. You have to seem super upset and worried, because you’re going to tell him (again, SUPER worried/sad) that your card isn’t working. You tried it three times, but it won’t let you pull out cash and you tried calling your bank, but your bank is closed because it’s night time back home.
- You need to talk about your card and how worried you are as much as possible. And how you’re worried there might be a fraud alert on the card and now you don’t know how you’ll have enough money for the rest of your trip. If you can do this even halfway convincingly, this should DEFINITELY work.
  ***Remember to emphasize that you’re leaving Bali in 2-3 days through all of this.

If they aren’t budging and you HAVE to pay them a bribe, don’t fork over more than 200k

To make sure that you don’t ever pay them more than 200k, follow these tips:

Only keep 100k in your wallet when you’re driving somewhere more touristy (Seminyak/Kuta), where police traps are more likely to happen.
If they won’t take the 100k to NOT write the ticket (and you’ve already begged a couple of times and emphasized that it’s all the money that you have and you’re leaving Bali in a few days anyways), then go “desperately looking” for another 50-100k (keep this extra money at, for example, the bottom of your purse, in your pants pockets, etc.)… They should definitely take the 150-200k bribe and you’ll be able to avoid getting a ticket. But, it’s important not to seem smug or be rude. Instead, act super grateful as if they were so extremely benevolent to let you go so easily.

**However, if you are riding with another person and neither of you are wearing helmets when you get pulled over, note that you may have to pay up to 200k per person (but this should be the max. and be sure to try first for 50k-100k per person using the tactics outlined above).