Newcomer WTF is the deal with Pedestrians not having the right of way in Buenos Aires. I almost got killed today at a green light

[sophos]

I live out on the boonies and prefer life where the air is clean and there is no traffic. Coming to CABA gives me hives.

It's pretty straightforward, in Argentina, rules are more like a distant cousin than anything concrete – they're not even a suggestion. The only cardinal rule seems to be self-preservation, with a sprinkle of most people not wanting to turn the streets into a demolition derby. So, everyone's just driving or strolling based on what feels safe enough. You can imagine, it's not exactly the gold standard for running a tight ship in traffic.

The real kicker? The lack of consequences and a police presence that's more like a cameo in the grand traffic show. I've never seen such laid-back cops anywhere. They're either cruising around or playing the role of potted plants on the sidelines. Fines? Who even knows how much they are, because no one in my circle has ever bothered complaining about paying one. The only time I heard of a traffic fine was some wild tale about a car rental demanding an astronomical sum for a supposed traffic misdemeanor, and that sounded like something out of a fiction novel.

This lack-of-punishment vibe isn't just confined to traffic; it's like a societal theme park. Working under the table, skipping invoices – it's a rule-breaking fiesta. I mean, why stick to rules that seem more like optional guidelines, right?

 

[Bobbie Burgers]

Oh, you know, the police here are just doing an outstanding job enforcing all those rules! Ha. NOT.

I mean, who wouldn't want to tap into the goldmine of fines as a fabulous source of income? It's like they're playing hide-and-seek with law enforcement – excellent strategy, really. But I don't notice like Mexico or other Latin American countries where cops line up their pockets.

 

[Sylvie]

On the flip side, there are a LOT of Jaywalkers and there is no fines or police don't care about them. I hate Jaywalkers...although I don't know why. Ha. I'm kind of a pain in the ass like that.

 

[Handy Andy]

On the flip side, there are a LOT of Jaywalkers and there is no fines or police don't care about them. I hate Jaywalkers...although I don't know why. Ha. I'm kind of a pain in the ass like that.

Absolutely, and hats off to the logic here! If you're not bothering to enforce rules for the four-wheeled beasts, why bother with the two-legged pedestrians, right? I mean, everyone gets to be a pedestrian at some point, but not everyone's rocking the driver's seat. Plus, let's be real, walking takes effort, so naturally, you're gonna aim for the most efficient stroll without turning it into a human obstacle course. Not quite the same story for all those vehicles of various shapes and sizes, though!

At least you admit you have issues @Sylvie

 

[Sylvie]

Absolutely, and hats off to the logic here! If you're not bothering to enforce rules for the four-wheeled beasts, why bother with the two-legged pedestrians, right? I mean, everyone gets to be a pedestrian at some point, but not everyone's rocking the driver's seat. Plus, let's be real, walking takes effort, so naturally, you're gonna aim for the most efficient stroll without turning it into a human obstacle course. Not quite the same story for all those vehicles of various shapes and sizes, though!

At least you admit you have issues @Sylvie

Yes, I admitted I'm a pain in the ass. I've been divorced 3 times and let's just say I was at fault in each of the marriages. But I AM seeing a therapist like everyone else in BA.

 

[Uncle Wong]

I just met an American tonight! He had a cast and I asked him what happened and he said that he was crossing a street and a taxi hit him. It was a hit and run. He broke his leg. They never caught the guy and no one got the license plate but on a positive note they took him to some public hospital and he said he paid almost anything for the hospital bill. That was amazing to hear!

 

[McDonald]

I frequently ponder the incredible mystery of how Argentines manage to navigate the treacherous world of driving in the United States, where the strictly enforced traffic laws seem to be nothing more than delightful cash cows for local governments.

For instance, in the enchanting realm of Miami, one is allowed to make a right turn at traffic lights only if the mythical condition of no cars approaching is met. Moreover, the captivating spectacle of vehicles being compelled to halt for pedestrians in crosswalks is truly a sight to behold. And let's not forget the exhilarating experience of speeding in a school zone, where one's fate is sealed with the certainty of being toasted to perfection. Oh, the joys of American traffic regulations!

 

[Uncle Wong]

I just met an American tonight! He had a cast and I asked him what happened and he said that he was crossing a street and a taxi hit him. It was a hit and run. He broke his leg. They never caught the guy and no one got the license plate but on a positive note they took him to some public hospital and he said he paid almost anything for the hospital bill. That was amazing to hear!

I was just wondering why no one here wears a seatbelt? I even have seen some taxi drivers rig it so they click on their seatbelt so alarm won't sound and they don't wear one in front. Many taxis I have been in don't even have seatbelts in the backseat. I took a transfer from EZE and while a few of the seatbelts worked, a few didn't work at all. It wouldn't extend out. What's the deal? Am I missing something here? I have been all over South America but the first time I have seen seatbelts completely gone from some cars.

 

[Pink Panther]

I was just wondering why no one here wears a seatbelt? I even have seen some taxi drivers rig it so they click on their seatbelt so alarm won't sound and they don't wear one in front. Many taxis I have been in don't even have seatbelts in the backseat. I took a transfer from EZE and while a few of the seatbelts worked, a few didn't work at all. It wouldn't extend out. What's the deal? Am I missing something here? I have been all over South America but the first time I have seen seatbelts completely gone from some cars.

Ah, the mystical land of Argentina, where window screens and bathroom sink overflows are as rare as a unicorn riding a skateboard. Asking why is like trying to explain the plot of a soap opera to a cat – it's futile. Can we unravel the mysteries of Argentina's quirks? Nope, not a chance. It's the enigma that defies understanding – Argentina, where things just are, without rhyme or reason!

 

[Jeep]

I was just wondering why no one here wears a seatbelt? I even have seen some taxi drivers rig it so they click on their seatbelt so alarm won't sound and they don't wear one in front. Many taxis I have been in don't even have seatbelts in the backseat. I took a transfer from EZE and while a few of the seatbelts worked, a few didn't work at all. It wouldn't extend out. What's the deal? Am I missing something here? I have been all over South America but the first time I have seen seatbelts completely gone from some cars.

Oh, of course! The missing seat belts must be playing hide-and-seek, cleverly tucked between the seats, or maybe they're just on vacation. Because everyone knows that brand new cars always come with seat belts – it's a feature, not a bug.

And oh, the thrill of driving in the interior! The police giving out tickets like they're at a carnival booth – "Buckle up or pay up!" Headlights, seat belts, they've got a checklist longer than a CVS receipt. Small towns turning into impromptu game shows where the police wave you down for the ultimate license and registration challenge. It's like living in a real-life episode of "Guess what's wrong with your car today!" So much fun, isn't it?

 

[GlasgowJohn]

When you do the VTV here - the annual roadworthiness vehicle test , they are pretty strict on seat belts . they also demand that your car fire extingusiher has passed an annual revision.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

They're either cruising around or playing the role of potted plants on the sidelines.

@sophos have you ever made it to Cordoba? i rented a car and drove CABA->CBA and the first thing i noticed in the province was tons of highway patrol, checkpoints, cops everywhere, and even checkpoints in the city (no 4th Amendment it seems - they just flagged random drivers and seized them to check papers).

the car rental people warned me in Cordoba that you'll pay multas for any infraction, and the cops here in Cordoba capital are ticket-writers like no other (no warnings).

driving stickshift, in rain, in CABA and Cordoba for a couple days, was fairly stressful (hard to guess the rules), but still a little bit better than border towns in Mexico or the middle east big cities

i agree cops are potted plants. very different to see them not care when bums are bothering people just a few feet away. or sleeping on mattresses on the sidewalk (this did not fly when i was a cop in the USA). i'm interested to see if crime is lower because Cordoba cops are heavy-handed (in the Argentine sense with fines, not physically abusive) - i can report that Güemes is a shithole and i was horrified to see Nueva Cordoba be very different from how it was described online. there is commie graffiti everywhere, and there is a Parking Mafia that extorts people parking for a safety fee, or they'll damage your car when you're gone (more to follow on this)

 

[Betsy Ross]

@sophos have you ever made it to Cordoba? i rented a car and drove CABA->CBA and the first thing i noticed in the province was tons of highway patrol, checkpoints, cops everywhere, and even checkpoints in the city (no 4th Amendment it seems - they just flagged random drivers and seized them to check papers).

the car rental people warned me in Cordoba that you'll pay multas for any infraction, and the cops here in Cordoba capital are ticket-writers like no other (no warnings).

driving stickshift, in rain, in CABA and Cordoba for a couple days, was fairly stressful (hard to guess the rules), but still a little bit better than border towns in Mexico or the middle east big cities

i agree cops are potted plants. very different to see them not care when bums are bothering people just a few feet away. or sleeping on mattresses on the sidewalk (this did not fly when i was a cop in the USA). i'm interested to see if crime is lower because Cordoba cops are heavy-handed (in the Argentine sense with fines, not physically abusive) - i can report that Güemes is a shithole and i was horrified to see Nueva Cordoba be very different from how it was described online. there is commie graffiti everywhere, and there is a Parking Mafia that extorts people parking for a safety fee, or they'll damage your car when you're gone (more to follow on this)

My friend mentioned to me the same issues you wrote about when she went on a roadtrip to Cordoba and also to other cities. She said it was particularly bad in Cordoba. It seems the cops use it as a source to generate revenue or bribes or both! Did you get any tickets? She got speeding tickets (2 of them) and she claims she was not speeding. She parked in an area she said she thought it was a normal spot but it was a temporary delivery spot and she said she constantly got pulled over asking to see the papers from the rental car and her ID.

 

[MikeYoung]

@sophos have you ever made it to Cordoba? i rented a car and drove CABA->CBA and the first thing i noticed in the province was tons of highway patrol, checkpoints, cops everywhere, and even checkpoints in the city (no 4th Amendment it seems - they just flagged random drivers and seized them to check papers).

the car rental people warned me in Cordoba that you'll pay multas for any infraction, and the cops here in Cordoba capital are ticket-writers like no other (no warnings).

driving stickshift, in rain, in CABA and Cordoba for a couple days, was fairly stressful (hard to guess the rules), but still a little bit better than border towns in Mexico or the middle east big cities

i agree cops are potted plants. very different to see them not care when bums are bothering people just a few feet away. or sleeping on mattresses on the sidewalk (this did not fly when i was a cop in the USA). i'm interested to see if crime is lower because Cordoba cops are heavy-handed (in the Argentine sense with fines, not physically abusive) - i can report that Güemes is a shithole and i was horrified to see Nueva Cordoba be very different from how it was described online. there is commie graffiti everywhere, and there is a Parking Mafia that extorts people parking for a safety fee, or they'll damage your car when you're gone (more to follow on this)

@StatusNomadicus are there actual infractions or do the police make up fake charges?

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Did you get any tickets?

no, but it was only 17 hours of driving total, and i'm a freak when it comes to risk-mitigation. the rental car ladies said i could get a multa/fine for my dog being in the backseat without a carrier/kennel thing (i always seatbelt him and use a harness that is made to attach to seatbelts: https://www.yapstores.com/copy-of-techno-harness

the rental car from Sixt had 2 stickers on the back, identifying it as a rental, which i found annoying. i was worried i would be a target to the cops if they're looking for that type of thing.

are there actual infractions

well, in the USA you need to stop fully at a Stop Sign, which 99.9% of people including cops themselves don't even do, so cops usually wait within eyesight and then if you car isn't 100% stopped for a microsecond on the white line or at the line of the sign, it's an automatic Probable Cause to do a traffic stop (then check licence, registration, insurance, get the person out of the car and do a quick visual search for guns, and smell the inside of the car and smell the person by standing downwind to see if they smell like booze, etc.)

there are stop signs in Argentina and people fly through them at 15 MPH, so i'd say those are easy stops and that's probably why the moto i saw got stopped, but not sure. in the USA you would want some kind of proof as a cop, usually dashcam or bodycam, since the person could fight it at court. i have no idea if there's any recourse in Argentina, but most countries around the world it's a shakedown for sure. Ayaan Hirsi Ali talked about this when she moved from Somalia to Holland, and realized that the police were actually overwhelmingly going to protect her; in most of the world, the police are just aligned with the local criminals, and they are just as willing and capable of harming you - even more so, since they won't investigate themselves. she distrusted police, and then when under Dutch police protection, she saw that they were actually 99% honorable people who wouldn't extort her. she said she had to re-wire her brain about this idea.

 

[BuySellBA]

Fortunately, the police in Buenos Aires don't hassle you for the most part. People are generally such horrible drivers in Buenos Aires but the police don't hassle you unless you are in an accident. We have heard outside of Buenos Aires there can be incidents like @StatusNomadicus is mentioning. We have not had any issues with this in Buenos Aires or Bariloche at all.

 

[GlasgowJohn]

Fortunately, the police in Buenos Aires don't hassle you for the most part. People are generally such horrible drivers in Buenos Aires but the police don't hassle you unless you are in an accident. We have heard outside of Buenos Aires there can be incidents like @StatusNomadicus is mentioning. We have not had any issues with this in Buenos Aires or Bariloche at all.

I would probably add that you only get hassle if there is blood involved in the accident. If its only fender bashing, they don't really give a damn.

 

[Spend Thrift]

I would probably add that you only get hassle if there is blood involved in the accident. If its only fender bashing, they don't really give a damn.

This is totally true. My assistant had a friend who recently got in a car accident. His friend hit several cars that were parked on the side of the road. I'm not sure if he was drunk or not but no one was hurt. There was a lot of damage to his own car and parked cars. The police showed up and I was shocked to hear that the police officer that arrived to the scene accepted a bribe not to do a breathalyzer test. He had already parked his damaged car but the police asked him for a bribe and he did not have enough cash and the police told him to send money to a bank alias via transfer.

I asked if they were concerned about a paper trail and my assistant said this is very normal here. I am still trying to figure out if this is a positive or a negative!

Apparently one of the people that had their car parked and was damaged was making a scene and the police officer told them to calm down as if the person was drinking and driving the insurance would not cover the damage. He said the person calmed down after the police said that. Is this the norm here? Will insurance cover the damage if the person was drinking alcohol?

 

[McDonald]

This is totally true. My assistant had a friend who recently got in a car accident. His friend hit several cars that were parked on the side of the road. I'm not sure if he was drunk or not but no one was hurt. There was a lot of damage to his own car and parked cars. The police showed up and I was shocked to hear that the police officer that arrived to the scene accepted a bribe not to do a breathalyzer test. He had already parked his damaged car but the police asked him for a bribe and he did not have enough cash and the police told him to send money to a bank alias via transfer.

I asked if they were concerned about a paper trail and my assistant said this is very normal here. I am still trying to figure out if this is a positive or a negative!

Apparently one of the people that had their car parked and was damaged was making a scene and the police officer told them to calm down as if the person was drinking and driving the insurance would not cover the damage. He said the person calmed down after the police said that. Is this the norm here? Will insurance cover the damage if the person was drinking alcohol?

This is totally normal here. I have gotten pulled over several times in Argentina for speeding outside of BA. I have never gotten pulled over in BA for speeding. But every time I have been pulled over I have been able to pay the officer and avoided ticket. Same thing in Mexico too.

 

[Scottishgaucho]

I would probably add that you only get hassle if there is blood involved in the accident. If its only fender bashing, they don't really give a damn.

We got hit by a girl on a moped and within minutes two police cars as well as an ambulance appeared out of nowhere which amazed me I have to say. The girl rider had a sore leg and was taken to hospital for a check up. My missus showed the rather attractive police girl her documents and shortly after we were free to go. The incident with pictures even made the front page of the local newspaper next day.
We never heard anymore about it which really surprised me.