Here's our experiencing driving on the streets in Morocco, specifically around Fes, Chefchaouen, Ifrane and surrounds. In short.. watch out for lots of police traps!
I suppose I agree that if I followed or respected every single rule, I would not have been fined 3 times in 2 days. As a tourist though, I guess I'm trying to illustrate that it's not easy to do especially if it's your first time driving here! There were plenty of other drivers clearly not following those rules, and I was just following them! Clearly those drivers knew where and when to dodge those police! As mentioned in the video, I was in Spain driving for 2 weeks just prior and had zero issues at all. Clearly there is a difference. In the order of the offences mentioned in the video, these were the questions in my mind for each of them: 1. The stop sign was actually placed on a roundabout. Why am I expected to stop completely entering a roundabout? Apparently, I am suppose to stop completely until a police comes over to wave me pass. For me, I did stop at the entrance to the roundabout. I just didn't know I had to wait for a police to wave me pass! 2. The speed sign changes a LOT. On the span of 100m, sometimes I see speed changing from 80 to 60 to 40 and back to 80 again. NOT kidding nor exaggerating! I suppose I "zoned out" with so many speed changes and missed one of the sign that needed me to slow down to 60. Why are there so many speed changes? 3. Why is there a white line (no overtaking) on a perfectly straight road that stretches at least 2 km? Am I really expected to follow a tractor going at 10km/h for a road that has a speed limit well over that? In other countries, the "slow" driver would have been fined for obstructing traffic! Anyway.. yes I get it.. rules are rules, and I did learn it the hard way after 3 fines.
@@whereisant If a perfectly straight zone has a white straight Line in a 1x1 road for no overtaking it’s generally because this zone has one or several entrances to the road, exemple a factory with trucks and overtaking in that zone might be dangerous. Speed limits and other signs are not there by accident, many times they were added long after the road was build and after finding out about the danger ⚠️. Let’s be clear, those signs for speed or line are not there to tricks tourist or drivers, but police are well aware were the rules are the hardest to follow and they put themselves where they can bribe. Unlike Spain, Morocco is a third world country where a policemen salary is barely enough to put food on the table. In Spain, before entering the EU in 1986, bribery was normal and actually until the mid 90’s. Today it will be impossible to bride a cop in Spain but you will receive after your holiday a ticket for speeding and this can take month to be process by the rental car company as they must provide the name of the driver to the government and the gov must re-issue the ticket a second time and this process can take up to 1 year. In Spain the speeding cameras are places in some very very tricky spots . However, talking of bribery , it’s still normal in Spanish speaking Mexico or in Paraguay ( I’ve been ask to bribe the police in both of these countries ) Morocco is now at war against police corruption, some solution are being implemented but mentalities cannot be changed with an immediate better salary, it will take 1 or 2 generations. Things are changing, now you have seen one donkey but just in 1990 they’re was very few cars on the roads , mostly donkey’s now you see them very rarely. Morocco is still a poor country but it came back from the abyss.
Well what can I say. First of all, your video saved me a lot of trouble. We went for a 2 week trip in Morocco, driving. Police everywhere but got stopped only once entering a city for a standard check. Everyone who says you should follow the rules, well, WhereisAnt is right. The rules sometimes dont make sense at all. Its a 60km/h road which goes on for miles and miles, straight, then just before a curb, where normally you should wanna lower your speed, it says 80, to go behind the curb 60 again. Sometimes speed goes from 60 to 80 to 60 - 40 -60 -40- 20- 60- 80 in a few hundred metres, No joke, and the road doesnt change at all, its the same straight road lol. Doesnt make sense at all, but like you said, we followed every rule ( expect when it said 20 sometimes i was driving 30 or 35, 20 is really dead slow), cars overtaking me, ( on a straight line i didnt overtake anyone) but i stuck to every little rule, how strange it was. On our 2 week trip I think we saw 3 times police behind a tree or behind somewhere else checking the speed, so for sure, if you violate the rules, they will one time or another cath you. In the end the police is actually really polite and nice. Had to lower speed but only once stopped us to check our papers. Then made some small talk and tell me enjoy Morocco. Again, thanks to this video the whole experience was actually really nice. Our car rental agency was good, people are nice, food was nice, quite an amazing trip. And if people doubt if they should rent a car or not i would say rent one, its way easier to go around, go to certain places, and as long as you follow the rules ( it takes a while to adapt, driving on a road where its easy to drive 100 only drive 40 or 60 is a bit difficult, but after a day youre already used to it) its a nice way to discover the country
I'm glad I saved you a couple of hundred dirhams, which would have paid for some pretty nice Moroccan meals :) But yes.. I agree driving is absolutely a must to see and experience the "real" Morocco. Encountering those police is a tourist attraction in itself
I'm Moroccan and I fully agree with you. The road signs are insane and make no sense. They are meant to keep you on your toes or confuse you. You did great... except for the bribery part: I pay in full and ask for proof of payment, so at least it's not just a personal incentive for the guys to keep scamming you. And I try to avoid them even more :)
I'm going to fes in a few weeks with my mum for 1 week .i'm going from London..I'm thinking of hiring out a small car . will that be okay for the roads there? .i'm sure your video will help me stay away from unnecessary trouble with the police. So a big thank you for uploading and benefiting others. 1) How was parking around the tourist sites in fes and the blue city u visited? .2) Would u reccomend a day trip there from fes or stay for the night or 2 in the hotel there (in blue city) ?. 3) was parking easy in the tourist sites and hotels/riads.? 4)Was the parking free in some places and when u paid was it expensive or cheap. does it have clear signs where to park the car ? 5) how did u navigate just on road signs . can u reccomend any local navigation for someone ho has no internet . 6) is internet data cheap and how much do u think I ill need for 1 week . 7) how did u communicate with people there. Did u use google translate or anything like it?
Small car is mostly fine if you’re sticking to main roads and not thinking of going off the beaten path. Parking is actually plentiful and free, except in major attractions like area medina (walled city) and Chefchouen city centre. For these major attractions, you will need to pay for parking. There will be attendants everywhere guiding you where to park. Parking fee isn’t extreme and depends on how long you need to park. Get an idea from your hotel so it’s not a shock. Parking for the first time can be intimidating if you don’t know what to expect. We depended on Google Maps for navigation. And we would recommend it as the road can get extremely messy. Data is cheap and there are plenty of operators offering to sell you one at the airport. In terms of communication.. we didn’t have any issue getting by with English at major tourist sites. At smaller towns like Ifrane, it became an issue. Lots of hand gesturing :) they are generally very friendly and willing to help.. I must say.
This is a very common scam here. If you ask for paperwork, the cops almost always let you go. Because they are not really giving you a fine--no revenue is going to the state--they are just taking some cash from tourists for themselves. It happens a lot, alas. And not just to tourists.
Sorry you had this experience! We spent over two weeks driving in Morocco and didn't have a single bad experience with the police. Not saying you're wrong, but hopefully the situation has now improved.
I rented from internationally well known rental car company Sixt just outside Fez airport. There's a couple there from memory like Hertz and Avis. Didn't have any bad experiences as such apart from minor difficulties with communication (I know zero French). Can't speak for the local rental car companies.. which may well be troublesome.
Never drove in Mumbai. I think most of the drivers do. The road rules are different though, e.g. roundabout rules require you yield to anyone already on the roundabout, EXCEPT when you have the green light. If you have the green light, and someone is already on the roundabout, they need to stop whilst on the roundabout and yield to you. Confusing!! I didn’t know this and ended annoying the locals :)
Hey mate, can you make a video explaining how roundabouts work in Morocco. Planning to hire out a car but unsure of how the roundabout system works as opposed to what im used to in the uk where everyone on the right side has right of way
A lot of cops lies to hé wave at us, and told us we had a phone while driving he was lying and we kept discussing in 20 min - He thought I was recording and demand that he wants to see through my pictures but I didn’t allow him, he said if u pay me personally 300 dirham I will let you go! So advice to everyone, record the conversation, all of it, don’t give him money just let them give u a recipe of the ticket, ans do not give him your passport - he finally let us go and told us that it’s our first time in Morocco we should enjoy it but be “careful”
LOOK DUDE i drove i n uk for 49 years and in morocco i got a fine fcor speeding due to a woman driver in motorway seen in me behind a slow moving lorry and was behind me at the time i want to overtake and was crawling thet's pissed me off and once she overtook me i accelrate to overtake the louzy bad driver by then a gendarme got me
Totally can relate. I don't mind driving there short term for a holiday. But I definitely wouldn't consider driving there long term! Can imagine the number fines I will end up with if I do!
You should respect the rules. You clearly didn't. No you can't speed even if there's no car around, and you can't overtake in a connected white line just because you wanted to. And, you have to stop when you see the stop sign. Paying half the price is way better than paying double and having it on a record.
Agreed. I've written a pinned comment to provide some context on each of the offences. Anyway, I would have been happy to pay the full fine. The first cop clearly didn't want to issue me a ticket, and thought he was doing me a favour by giving half the fine back to me. :)
I lived in Kenitra for years and always took taxi’s. They were all over the place 24/7 and only 10 dehram. Tourists are always prime targets for the police.
Ha. That's good advice. We just wanted a bit of freedom to move around anywhere anytime with a rented car, but ended up with a whole lot more adventure than we anticipated :)
@@whereisant I also forgot to say that my lawyer in Morocco said that I should go introduce myself to the local police station. I had to fill out some paperwork for them anyway. I had pizza delivered to the station as well. So they knew who I was and how long I was going to be there. In the end, I made some new friends there. Keep in mind that this was not a bribe. It was just being friendly. My wife was Moroccan and we both soon afterwards moved to Las Vegas NV. She became Americanized and the marriage didn't last. She picked a Italian guy over me. I came home from Saudi Arabia for the birth of our child. She picked me up at the airport and while driving home, she informed me that I was to move out. When I was in Bahrain, a friend of mine there said that he didn't have the slightest approval of Moroccans. So, I now live in Houston, Texas. The plan for me is to by a house someplace overseas. I am looking at Portugal and also Norther Italy but maybe there is some place that I have yet to discover. A place to retire.
In Morocco be careful to reapect all traffic Signes.. and as you see the officer are going easy to do discount 😁 but drive carefully and respect the rules hhhhhh
What the heck is that for real I’m moroccon but I have never that would happen to you with police u should tell him just give me the ticket of the fine he can’t give it to you
I assume you mean car insurance to drive a rented car? If so, car insurance there works pretty much the same as those offered by rental companies everywhere else in the world. If you pay the base rental rate, car insurance comes with a relatively high damage excess that you are responsible for the damage caused by an accident. You pay a bit more per day to reduce the damage excess to $0. It's called "loss damage waiver" or "Top Cover" and are extra charges you have to pay on top of the base rental. I think it's worth it if you want peace of mind. Hope that helps.
As a Moroccan I know police are on the hunt for silly mistakes to make you pay, they are more focused on money making than safety for sure . Sadly That’s the system in Morocco
I have never been fined 3 times in a span of 3 days anywhere else doing the same driving as I do. Definitely would have other issues to worry about with US, e.g. maybe a random person pulling a gun on you :) It's all good.. Every country has its own positives and negatives.
@@whereisant depends on how controlled the road u'r in tho, i was never stopped for overtaking in a straight line for exemple ( but they r only doing their jobs after all)
I guess I'm just trying to illustrate that it's harder to fully respect the rules than expected coming here for the first time. I've provided some context to each of the fine for each of the fines. Fully agree that the police wouldn't be bothering me if I followed every single rule. It just took me 3 fines to learn it the hard way :)
@@SoufianeZahir how rules are unclear, it only a driver licence not a space missile. and most rules speed and stop sign. why you try to find some escuse for stranger. driver licence are 3 things: red light, stop sign and speed. even you broke them or not, what is not unclear. he change the title of the video, the video was titled: Moroccan police rob him, when it him who rob public money.
You killed me 🤣🤣 Morocco is a nightmare to drive if you didn't respect the rules and police will always be at looking for any minor problems with the vehicle like brake light and stuff and they won't let you off without a fine or just offer them a 50 or 100dh they may let it slide 🤣🤣
I'm Moroccan and I can really attest to that. Corruption among the police and gendarmes on the streets is a big problem. They use every opportunity to steal the holy blue 200 Dh note, they choose their victims carefully, they behave like muggers, I advise the Moroccan king that the fine is no longer collected on the street but by bank transfer at the local cash register
You made this videos very confusing for people by showing the sign that tells you to slow down, when you see this sign, you must keep going a very slow speed , like a walking speed. The other sign look the same from far away but it clearly says stop and this one is not in the video and when you see that one, you must drive up to the sign and completely stop until the police tells you to go ahead
Ok.. I suppose for a foreigner who don't understand the sign at all.. it doesn't matter what it says. I would have been stopped by the police anyway. Thanks for pointing it out.
@@whereisantthere are 2 type of signs at this police check points. One that says “ralentir” means slow down and you can keep moving past the check point without stopping, just very slowly. The second one have a “stop” on it and understandable by all, and this one you must stop at the level of the sign or at the police if they are before the sign. You can move only when the police tells you to move by a hand gesture. Failing to stop will result to get a ticket. Police corruption is a problem in Morocco but you were very unlucky, I just came back from Morocco and have not received a single ticket and didn’t have to bribe. Last year I did have to bribe one policemen for speeding The government is thinking about reducing the ticket to 150dh and it will be more affordable for the average Moroccan and no one will want to give 100 in a police pocket when they can give 150 and benefit the country. Now between 400 and 100, many people rather pay 100 and leave . The problem is obiously the salary of police which is 4000dh per month , it’s very low but many police do not accept bribery. Few are actually like that and they abuse the system and make Morocco look so bad. Maybe a better pay for police like 6000dh and lowering the ticket to 250 should fix the problem. Thank you for visiting Morocco and supporting the Moroccan population in its long way to development. Believe it or not but just 25 years ago cars were very rare and everyone ride a donkey , the GDP jump 800% since the new king. Maybe in 10 or 15 years the corruption will go away with development
@@Visit_Tangier Thanks for this information. Hope others will benefit from this information. I wished the car rental company (or someone) could have told us this before handing the rental car over, in terms of what to expect. We obviously didn't do our research, and had no idea about these stop signs before hand. Otherwise, the country is beautiful!
Of course they are basic rules. No disputing that. But the rules are not implemented the same in other countries. Judging by the number of people (locals and foreigners) stopped by the cops, I don't think it's just a problem with following basic rules.
“But the tractor was doing 10km/h” so what? The cop had every right to stop you lmao rules are rules you can’t overtake at a straight unbroken line, same goes for wherever you’re from.
I suppose they have the right to demand payment on the spot.. or have the right to take away your license, or whatever they like right? Anyway.. Not saying rules aren't rules.. just questioning whether those rules make sense in the first place.
Give me a break. We were happy to take the ticket and pay the fine in full. Being our first time there and with no idea what the protocol is.. What else would you do if you're short on cash, with the police officer threatening to confiscate your license if you don't pay on the spot? Of course with hindsight, we could demand for the ticket and not bribe/pay them. But if you're in the situation with the police officer happy to waste your time until you yield.. I doubt that too many people would do differently.
A lot of cops lies to hé wave at us, and told us we had a phone while driving he was lying and we kept discussing in 20 min - He thought I was recording and demand that he wants to see through my pictures but I didn’t allow him, he said if u pay me personally 300 dirham I will let you go! So advice to everyone, record the conversation, all of it, don’t give him money just let them give u a recipe of the ticket, ans do not give him your passport - he finally let us go and told us that it’s our first time in Morocco we should enjoy it but be “careful”
I suppose I agree that if I followed or respected every single rule, I would not have been fined 3 times in 2 days. As a tourist though, I guess I'm trying to illustrate that it's not easy to do especially if it's your first time driving here! There were plenty of other drivers clearly not following those rules, and I was just following them! Clearly those drivers knew where and when to dodge those police!
As mentioned in the video, I was in Spain driving for 2 weeks just prior and had zero issues at all. Clearly there is a difference. In the order of the offences mentioned in the video, these were the questions in my mind for each of them:
1. The stop sign was actually placed on a roundabout. Why am I expected to stop completely entering a roundabout? Apparently, I am suppose to stop completely until a police comes over to wave me pass. For me, I did stop at the entrance to the roundabout. I just didn't know I had to wait for a police to wave me pass!
2. The speed sign changes a LOT. On the span of 100m, sometimes I see speed changing from 80 to 60 to 40 and back to 80 again. NOT kidding nor exaggerating! I suppose I "zoned out" with so many speed changes and missed one of the sign that needed me to slow down to 60. Why are there so many speed changes?
3. Why is there a white line (no overtaking) on a perfectly straight road that stretches at least 2 km? Am I really expected to follow a tractor going at 10km/h for a road that has a speed limit well over that? In other countries, the "slow" driver would have been fined for obstructing traffic!
Anyway.. yes I get it.. rules are rules, and I did learn it the hard way after 3 fines.
Use waze, it shows most of the police signs and speed radars; speeding tickets are how they make money lol
Wow.. didn't know Waze is available there. I hope your comment helps others driving in Morocco!
@@whereisant yes, it works and i use it whenever i go somewhere i am not familiar with
@@whereisant If a perfectly straight zone has a white straight Line in a 1x1 road for no overtaking it’s generally because this zone has one or several entrances to the road, exemple a factory with trucks and overtaking in that zone might be dangerous.
Speed limits and other signs are not there by accident, many times they were added long after the road was build and after finding out about the danger ⚠️.
Let’s be clear, those signs for speed or line are not there to tricks tourist or drivers, but police are well aware were the rules are the hardest to follow and they put themselves where they can bribe.
Unlike Spain, Morocco is a third world country where a policemen salary is barely enough to put food on the table.
In Spain, before entering the EU in 1986, bribery was normal and actually until the mid 90’s.
Today it will be impossible to bride a cop in Spain but you will receive after your holiday a ticket for speeding and this can take month to be process by the rental car company as they must provide the name of the driver to the government and the gov must re-issue the ticket a second time and this process can take up to 1 year.
In Spain the speeding cameras are places in some very very tricky spots .
However, talking of bribery , it’s still normal in Spanish speaking Mexico or in Paraguay ( I’ve been ask to bribe the police in both of these countries )
Morocco is now at war against police corruption, some solution are being implemented but mentalities cannot be changed with an immediate better salary, it will take 1 or 2 generations.
Things are changing, now you have seen one donkey but just in 1990 they’re was very few cars on the roads , mostly donkey’s now you see them very rarely.
Morocco is still a poor country but it came back from the abyss.
Thank you for the video, it is really helpful.
I am thinking of renting a car in Marrakech to Merzouga, then drop the car at Fez. What do you think?
Well what can I say. First of all, your video saved me a lot of trouble. We went for a 2 week trip in Morocco, driving. Police everywhere but got stopped only once entering a city for a standard check. Everyone who says you should follow the rules, well, WhereisAnt is right. The rules sometimes dont make sense at all. Its a 60km/h road which goes on for miles and miles, straight, then just before a curb, where normally you should wanna lower your speed, it says 80, to go behind the curb 60 again. Sometimes speed goes from 60 to 80 to 60 - 40 -60 -40- 20- 60- 80 in a few hundred metres, No joke, and the road doesnt change at all, its the same straight road lol. Doesnt make sense at all, but like you said, we followed every rule ( expect when it said 20 sometimes i was driving 30 or 35, 20 is really dead slow), cars overtaking me, ( on a straight line i didnt overtake anyone) but i stuck to every little rule, how strange it was. On our 2 week trip I think we saw 3 times police behind a tree or behind somewhere else checking the speed, so for sure, if you violate the rules, they will one time or another cath you. In the end the police is actually really polite and nice. Had to lower speed but only once stopped us to check our papers. Then made some small talk and tell me enjoy Morocco. Again, thanks to this video the whole experience was actually really nice. Our car rental agency was good, people are nice, food was nice, quite an amazing trip. And if people doubt if they should rent a car or not i would say rent one, its way easier to go around, go to certain places, and as long as you follow the rules ( it takes a while to adapt, driving on a road where its easy to drive 100 only drive 40 or 60 is a bit difficult, but after a day youre already used to it) its a nice way to discover the country
I'm glad I saved you a couple of hundred dirhams, which would have paid for some pretty nice Moroccan meals :) But yes.. I agree driving is absolutely a must to see and experience the "real" Morocco. Encountering those police is a tourist attraction in itself
Hi , thanks for the recommendations. Can you please name car rental agency you used while in Morocco? Thank you
I've watched dozens of travel videos this week, and this is the first one that made me laugh. Great vid, very informative :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
amazing! waiting for next episode in morocco 😄
I'm Moroccan and I fully agree with you. The road signs are insane and make no sense. They are meant to keep you on your toes or confuse you. You did great... except for the bribery part: I pay in full and ask for proof of payment, so at least it's not just a personal incentive for the guys to keep scamming you. And I try to avoid them even more :)
Probably the funniest thing I watch today
Glad it entertained you. Thanks for watching!
The guy on the scooter thing driving on the road xd so funny laughed a lot
Great eyesight for you to notice it!
I'm going to fes in a few weeks with my mum for 1 week .i'm going from London..I'm thinking of hiring out a small car . will that be okay for the roads there? .i'm sure your video will help me stay away from unnecessary trouble with the police. So a big thank you for uploading and benefiting others.
1) How was parking around the tourist sites in fes and the blue city u visited?
.2) Would u reccomend a day trip there from fes or stay for the night or 2 in the hotel there (in blue city) ?.
3) was parking easy in the tourist sites and hotels/riads.?
4)Was the parking free in some places and when u paid was it expensive or cheap. does it have clear signs where to park the car ?
5) how did u navigate just on road signs . can u reccomend any local navigation for someone ho has no internet .
6) is internet data cheap and how much do u think I ill need for 1 week .
7) how did u communicate with people there. Did u use google translate or anything like it?
Small car is mostly fine if you’re sticking to main roads and not thinking of going off the beaten path. Parking is actually plentiful and free, except in major attractions like area medina (walled city) and Chefchouen city centre.
For these major attractions, you will need to pay for parking. There will be attendants everywhere guiding you where to park. Parking fee isn’t extreme and depends on how long you need to park. Get an idea from your hotel so it’s not a shock. Parking for the first time can be intimidating if you don’t know what to expect.
We depended on Google Maps for navigation. And we would recommend it as the road can get extremely messy. Data is cheap and there are plenty of operators offering to sell you one at the airport.
In terms of communication.. we didn’t have any issue getting by with English at major tourist sites. At smaller towns like Ifrane, it became an issue. Lots of hand gesturing :) they are generally very friendly and willing to help.. I must say.
what would it be to take my car over,would it make worse on foreign number plates etc?
This was great 👍😂
This is a very common scam here. If you ask for paperwork, the cops almost always let you go. Because they are not really giving you a fine--no revenue is going to the state--they are just taking some cash from tourists for themselves. It happens a lot, alas. And not just to tourists.
Sorry you had this experience! We spent over two weeks driving in Morocco and didn't have a single bad experience with the police. Not saying you're wrong, but hopefully the situation has now improved.
Wonder if it's just Fez / Chefchaouen where I did most my driving. Where were you driving for 2 weeks?
A lot of people are vary of hiring cars in Morocco because of fear of getting scammed. How was your experience with the rental company?
I rented from internationally well known rental car company Sixt just outside Fez airport. There's a couple there from memory like Hertz and Avis. Didn't have any bad experiences as such apart from minor difficulties with communication (I know zero French). Can't speak for the local rental car companies.. which may well be troublesome.
Does everyone follow the roads properly, or is it like driving in Mumbai?
Never drove in Mumbai. I think most of the drivers do. The road rules are different though, e.g. roundabout rules require you yield to anyone already on the roundabout, EXCEPT when you have the green light. If you have the green light, and someone is already on the roundabout, they need to stop whilst on the roundabout and yield to you. Confusing!! I didn’t know this and ended annoying the locals :)
Hey mate, can you make a video explaining how roundabouts work in Morocco. Planning to hire out a car but unsure of how the roundabout system works as opposed to what im used to in the uk where everyone on the right side has right of way
A lot of cops lies to hé wave at us, and told us we had a phone while driving he was lying and we kept discussing in 20 min - He thought I was recording and demand that he wants to see through my pictures but I didn’t allow him, he said if u pay me personally 300 dirham I will let you go! So advice to everyone, record the conversation, all of it, don’t give him money just let them give u a recipe of the ticket, ans do not give him your passport - he finally let us go and told us that it’s our first time in Morocco we should enjoy it but be “careful”
LOOK DUDE i drove i n uk for 49 years and in morocco i got a fine fcor speeding due to a woman driver in motorway seen in me behind a slow moving lorry and was behind me at the time i want to overtake and was crawling thet's pissed me off and once she overtook me i accelrate to overtake the louzy bad driver by then a gendarme got me
Totally can relate. I don't mind driving there short term for a holiday. But I definitely wouldn't consider driving there long term! Can imagine the number fines I will end up with if I do!
You should respect the rules. You clearly didn't.
No you can't speed even if there's no car around, and you can't overtake in a connected white line just because you wanted to. And, you have to stop when you see the stop sign.
Paying half the price is way better than paying double and having it on a record.
Agreed. I've written a pinned comment to provide some context on each of the offences.
Anyway, I would have been happy to pay the full fine. The first cop clearly didn't want to issue me a ticket, and thought he was doing me a favour by giving half the fine back to me. :)
I lived in Kenitra for years and always took taxi’s. They were all over the place 24/7 and only 10 dehram. Tourists are always prime targets for the police.
Ha. That's good advice. We just wanted a bit of freedom to move around anywhere anytime with a rented car, but ended up with a whole lot more adventure than we anticipated :)
@@whereisant I also forgot to say that my lawyer in Morocco said that I should go introduce myself to the local police station. I had to fill out some paperwork for them anyway. I had pizza delivered to the station as well. So they knew who I was and how long I was going to be there. In the end, I made some new friends there. Keep in mind that this was not a bribe. It was just being friendly. My wife was Moroccan and we both soon afterwards moved to Las Vegas NV. She became Americanized and the marriage didn't last. She picked a Italian guy over me. I came home from Saudi Arabia for the birth of our child. She picked me up at the airport and while driving home, she informed me that I was to move out. When I was in Bahrain, a friend of mine there said that he didn't have the slightest approval of Moroccans. So, I now live in Houston, Texas. The plan for me is to by a house someplace overseas. I am looking at Portugal and also Norther Italy but maybe there is some place that I have yet to discover. A place to retire.
In Morocco be careful to reapect all traffic Signes.. and as you see the officer are going easy to do discount 😁 but drive carefully and respect the rules hhhhhh
Yup that’s Morocco, crooked cops standing at places where you’re likely to break that specific silly rule.
What the heck is that for real I’m moroccon but I have never that would happen to you with police u should tell him just give me the ticket of the fine he can’t give it to you
How can I get car insurance to drive in morocco?
I assume you mean car insurance to drive a rented car? If so, car insurance there works pretty much the same as those offered by rental companies everywhere else in the world. If you pay the base rental rate, car insurance comes with a relatively high damage excess that you are responsible for the damage caused by an accident. You pay a bit more per day to reduce the damage excess to $0. It's called "loss damage waiver" or "Top Cover" and are extra charges you have to pay on top of the base rental. I think it's worth it if you want peace of mind.
Hope that helps.
As a Moroccan I know police are on the hunt for silly mistakes to make you pay, they are more focused on money making than safety for sure . Sadly That’s the system in Morocco
I hope it will change for the better one day. Apart from this experience, Morocco is a beautiful place!
Bro - I saw it in an instant.....as soon as you hired a big flash JEEP and down the side in big letters was - STOP ME for free Dirham.. no brainer
Lol... I'm pretty sure when I was stopped, there were plenty of other cars that weren't so flashy too. Not so sure if a plain/old car would help
yes it deters me. thank you.
Oh yes!!! Police in Morocco are everywhere and I mean everywhere !!! U better drive with a load of cash
i mean ,it would've been the same thing if u was in the us or any other country , m i wrong ? xD, welcome to morocco tho
I have never been fined 3 times in a span of 3 days anywhere else doing the same driving as I do. Definitely would have other issues to worry about with US, e.g. maybe a random person pulling a gun on you :) It's all good.. Every country has its own positives and negatives.
@@whereisant depends on how controlled the road u'r in tho, i was never stopped for overtaking in a straight line for exemple ( but they r only doing their jobs after all)
@@whereisant Do you really think you'd have an issue with someone pulling a gun on you in the US?
If you just respect the rules, nobody will bother you! And it's better to pay the fines if you broke the rules, rather than supporting corruption!
I guess I'm just trying to illustrate that it's harder to fully respect the rules than expected coming here for the first time. I've provided some context to each of the fine for each of the fines. Fully agree that the police wouldn't be bothering me if I followed every single rule. It just took me 3 fines to learn it the hard way :)
Rules are really unclear. Afraid lots of Tourists not coming back to morocco
@@SoufianeZahir how rules are unclear, it only a driver licence not a space missile. and most rules speed and stop sign. why you try to find some escuse for stranger. driver licence are 3 things: red light, stop sign and speed. even you broke them or not, what is not unclear. he change the title of the video, the video was titled: Moroccan police rob him, when it him who rob public money.
Are there really rules in Morocco?
@@albanian9565 yes more thhan Albania
You killed me 🤣🤣 Morocco is a nightmare to drive if you didn't respect the rules and police will always be at looking for any minor problems with the vehicle like brake light and stuff and they won't let you off without a fine or just offer them a 50 or 100dh they may let it slide 🤣🤣
I'm Moroccan and I can really attest to that. Corruption among the police and gendarmes on the streets is a big problem. They use every opportunity to steal the holy blue 200 Dh note, they choose their victims carefully, they behave like muggers, I advise the Moroccan king that the fine is no longer collected on the street but by bank transfer at the local cash register
هادا عزوز بوليسي
Hello police officer
You made this videos very confusing for people by showing the sign that tells you to slow down, when you see this sign, you must keep going a very slow speed , like a walking speed.
The other sign look the same from far away but it clearly says stop and this one is not in the video and when you see that one, you must drive up to the sign and completely stop until the police tells you to go ahead
Ok.. I suppose for a foreigner who don't understand the sign at all.. it doesn't matter what it says. I would have been stopped by the police anyway. Thanks for pointing it out.
@@whereisantthere are 2 type of signs at this police check points.
One that says “ralentir” means slow down and you can keep moving past the check point without stopping, just very slowly.
The second one have a “stop” on it and understandable by all, and this one you must stop at the level of the sign or at the police if they are before the sign.
You can move only when the police tells you to move by a hand gesture.
Failing to stop will result to get a ticket.
Police corruption is a problem in Morocco but you were very unlucky, I just came back from Morocco and have not received a single ticket and didn’t have to bribe.
Last year I did have to bribe one policemen for speeding
The government is thinking about reducing the ticket to 150dh and it will be more affordable for the average Moroccan and no one will want to give 100 in a police pocket when they can give 150 and benefit the country.
Now between 400 and 100, many people rather pay 100 and leave .
The problem is obiously the salary of police which is 4000dh per month , it’s very low but many police do not accept bribery. Few are actually like that and they abuse the system and make Morocco look so bad.
Maybe a better pay for police like 6000dh and lowering the ticket to 250 should fix the problem.
Thank you for visiting Morocco and supporting the Moroccan population in its long way to development.
Believe it or not but just 25 years ago cars were very rare and everyone ride a donkey , the GDP jump 800% since the new king. Maybe in 10 or 15 years the corruption will go away with development
@@Visit_Tangier Thanks for this information. Hope others will benefit from this information. I wished the car rental company (or someone) could have told us this before handing the rental car over, in terms of what to expect. We obviously didn't do our research, and had no idea about these stop signs before hand. Otherwise, the country is beautiful!
lol The moroccan police are nice lol they work well with you by you violating the rule 🤣🤣🤣🤣
The first police set the precedence by giving me 200 dirham back. After that, I knew that the price is negotiable!
I just refuse to pay works for me
In my case, they insisted they will confiscate my license. Didn’t know how am I suppose to get it back if I don’t pay
@@whereisant they try all the tricks
@@whereisant As a moroccan you can pretend to be poor and low on gas. They may let you go out of pity.
@@KingKreem lol. What about for travellers / foreigners!? Wouldn't be too convincing as a foreigner, I would imagine :)
@@awonglk Yeah. Tourists usually have money :D
😂😂😂
Hahahaha typical morroco
pls respect the rules of Morocco!!and have a nice day
you should of said to them, Allah is watching and he would of let you go.
Lol... I would try that some day if anyone can confirm this works
@@whereisant It doesn´t :D
Over 6000 km in 20 days I was stopped 2 times because I was going 32 and 40 over limit . Don't believe this B.S
Don't believe which B.S specifically?
Well these are basic rules 😂even in ur country
Of course they are basic rules. No disputing that. But the rules are not implemented the same in other countries. Judging by the number of people (locals and foreigners) stopped by the cops, I don't think it's just a problem with following basic rules.
“But the tractor was doing 10km/h” so what? The cop had every right to stop you lmao rules are rules you can’t overtake at a straight unbroken line, same goes for wherever you’re from.
I suppose they have the right to demand payment on the spot.. or have the right to take away your license, or whatever they like right? Anyway.. Not saying rules aren't rules.. just questioning whether those rules make sense in the first place.
Maybe you should learn to read road signs and stop trying to bribe the police (the first police officier was corrupt he put the 200 in his pocket )
Give me a break. We were happy to take the ticket and pay the fine in full. Being our first time there and with no idea what the protocol is.. What else would you do if you're short on cash, with the police officer threatening to confiscate your license if you don't pay on the spot? Of course with hindsight, we could demand for the ticket and not bribe/pay them. But if you're in the situation with the police officer happy to waste your time until you yield.. I doubt that too many people would do differently.
Shame on you
Mind providing some context?
A lot of cops lies to hé wave at us, and told us we had a phone while driving he was lying and we kept discussing in 20 min - He thought I was recording and demand that he wants to see through my pictures but I didn’t allow him, he said if u pay me personally 300 dirham I will let you go! So advice to everyone, record the conversation, all of it, don’t give him money just let them give u a recipe of the ticket, ans do not give him your passport - he finally let us go and told us that it’s our first time in Morocco we should enjoy it but be “careful”