SMV extorted by Spanish Border Patrol!

[Phil Smith]

Gross Misconduct:

Exceeding maximum driving time in 20% or more, that is, driving for:

- 5 hours and 24 minutes or more without rest
- 10 hours and 48 minutes in one day with or without rest
- 67 hours and 12 minutes in one week with or without rest
- 108 hours in two weeks with or without rest

I see, the driver should know better especially if he's driving a vehicle that's recording information that can be easily obtained during a traffic stop. I guess he didn't want to turn down the driving gig, but they should deduct it from his pay.

In defense of SMV they're coming at this from an american perspective and it did look shady since we rarely have to come out of our pockets on the spot with that much cash for a traffic infraction because we mostly drive in our own states which in some cases can be as large as an entire EU country.

However...when armed with the facts a retraction is probably in order if in fact the driver was over.

 

[spywebco]

Having lived in the UK and in a few states here in the USA, one of the things that is unique about travelling is...well, it's unique. It's not the same as where you're from, nor are the laws, nor the people enforcing them. With regard to the video's from Vic's cell, there are some facts that we as viewers are not privy to, and until we are, should withhold judgement (but certainly not comment). It could be the bus driver feeding the tour a line, or the officers engaging in inappropriate behavior...if all the facts come out, then we will know the facts. Until then, it's a hell of a good story from the road.
Incidentally, my brother in law is a Dept. of Transportation officer for Motor Carrier Compliance. That means dealing with commercial drivers all the time is his job. The fines they hand out daily would be considered robbery to anyone driving a non-commercial vehicle here in the states. Fines that I have heard of being written run from a few hundred to fines as high as $70K for chronic repeat offenses by the same company. They don't collect fines on the spot, but vehicle seizure happens everyday here in the States. It's not unheard of to impound a repeat offenders vehicle until the case has either gone to court or been settled financially. It's a big, not always good world out there on both sides of every ocean. Our heroes being involved in the drama doesn't necessarily mean that someone they employed didn't screw up. That's my .02...wake me up when it's over.

 

[Marlat]

Ah, a typical TB thread, masses of knee jerking an over reaction followed by some facts that make the situation look completely different, a few retractions and a few posts that continue to espouses the earlier knee jerking from people who don't read the whole thread. Just another day in the office. You can't make this stuff up!

 

[LilRay]

Ah, a typical TB thread, masses of knee jerking an over reaction followed by some facts that make the situation look completely different, a few retractions and a few posts that continue to espouses the earlier knee jerking from people who don't read the whole thread. Just another day in the office. You can't make this stuff up!

Just like sands in the hourglass.......


TB RULES!!!!

God Bless, Ray

 

[mstott25]

I come from an spanish bassist forum and we are very disappointed with Victor, first he defames our country and then he censores an attempt to explain him the misunderstunding he's been involved in.

You guys have Gary Willis, who needs Victor Wooten?

 

[Phil Smith]

In the video Victor assumes that the Ertzainas are corrupt and are extorting them. Victor Wooten has been touring since the 80's and he doesn't know that the police can fine the replacement driver.

As I tried to explain in a comment that he didn't approve, it probably was a misunderstanding, and all the "suspicious" circumstances like the closed office, held bus and payment in the police car are perfectly LEGAL.

Whether something is LEGAL or not doesn't mean that it's not without controversey or that it is even RIGHT. In some countries it's legal to beat your wife, it used to be legal here to own slaves, apartheid used to be legal.

Suspicious means just that, suspicious and when things involve large amounts of cash exchanged in a car versus an office is a little bizarre and could easily be thought of as corrupt and it's not like the EU hasn't had it share of corruption like every place else.

 

[dlloyd]

Perhaps Wooten should have checked his facts before making accusations like that?

 

[Sounbwoy]

I read it very clearly and as I have clearly stated it was nothing more than a shake down.



$2800 us dollars is extremely steep for a driver infraction if that was indeed the case


Those who are offended by what Vic is stating,what is the average fine for such an infraction by a driver?

I'm sorry. I STILL don't get it. Has ANYONE addressed WHY the bus was pulled? Yeah, there's a Tacograph inside. Does it broadcast to authorites how long a driver has been working? If not, then so far, I have yet to see a PLAUSIBLE reason WHY that bus was stopped. If they're just doing "spot" checks, then alright. It just seems fishy tho.
No one is bashing any country, just what happend in it, and it has already been acknoweledged that it happens everywhere. Oh yeah, because the US may be bigger doesn't mean we don't have congested roads here as well!! :scowl:
So STILL - Shake , Shake , Shake, Shake it on DOWN!!!

 

[Zureta]

Perhaps Wooten should have checked his facts before making accusations like that?

Pretty much the heart of the matter, isn't it?

It's fantastic that we're finally reaching a point in human history when everyone will be able to make decent-quality video and share it instantly, worldwide, beyond the reach of any censorship. This is the dawn of a new era of citizen journalism, for better or worse.

But, as much as it's a strange, confusing and annoying situation to be in — and I'm sure Victor and the other guys involved are great human beings deserving of the best treatment on the road or elsewhere — but indignantly crying out "extorsion" to a global public, without first caring to fully understand what happened, is a lousy use of the so-called "star status".

Ask a lawyer first or something. That's what they're for.

 

[Zureta]

I'm sorry. I STILL don't get it. Has ANYONE addressed WHY the bus was pulled? Yeah, there's a Tacograph inside. Does it broadcast to authorites how long a driver has been working? If not, then so far, I have yet to see a PLAUSIBLE reason WHY that bus was stopped. If they're just doing "spot" checks, then alright. It just seems fishy tho.

I though it was at some sort of national or international border. And they're border police. That's just what they do, isn't it?

Let's see you try to drive a bus from Mexico into the U.S. without someone stopping you.

Did I understand wrong?

 

[Sounbwoy]

I though it was at some sort of national or international border. And they're border police. That's just what they do, isn't it?

Let's see you try to drive a bus from Mexico into the U.S. without someone stopping you.

Did I understand wrong?

LOL. No. But I guess based on the video, it was not a checkpoint like you cross the border into Mexico, right? If I'm wrong and our nice European brethren can tell, then fine. But it looks like vehicles were moving right along. If not a checkpoint for drunk driving, speeding, nationalization papers, etc. why PULL the bus? What was the reason?

 

[julo]

LOL. No. But I guess based on the video, it was not a checkpoint like you cross the border into Mexico, right? If I'm wrong and our nice European brethren can tell, then fine. But it looks like vehicles were moving right along. If not a checkpoint for drunk driving, speeding, nationalization papers, etc. why PULL the bus? What was the reason?

Random control.
Maybe music tour bus are a target because they carry RnR stars who do drugs and tend to bend the rules...
Go figure, maybe the driver drove suspiciously.
Go figure.

Cops are pretty good at smelling "bad" bahavior. They are trained for that.

On aside note, as somebody already mentioned, there are no borders per se between EU countries. but there are still custom officers. They are not just lifting a gate after looking at your passport.

 

[Marcus]

No matter whose side you take, just put yourself into the SMV crew's position. You were stopped, held, and fined for a large amount of money for a law that you may or may not understand. No matter how you slice it, there will be some resentment there! I know for a fact that even if I had the money to burn, if I were stopped and fined on the spot for that much money, I would be pretty upset!

 

[Sounbwoy]

No matter whose side you take, just put yourself into the SMV crew's position. You were stopped, held, and fined for a large amount of money for a law that you may or may not understand. No matter how you slice it, there will be some resentment there! I know for a fact that even if I had the money to burn, if I were stopped and fined on the spot for that much money, I would be pretty upset!

Agreed. I'm done with this too.

 

[yamark]

crazy

 

[Phil Smith]

well guys....

just watched video pt. 1 again.

Everything is crystal clear one driver (which happens to be not the driver at the point when they got pulled over) had a driving-time violation 3 weeks ago, which the cops had found in the records.

The important point is that the cops check the past 28 days.

I have the impression that no one of the crew is aware of this fact.

Now the only remaining legal debate is, wether the cops were acting according to law when they had checked the driving records of this driver, who was actually not driving at the point of the check up.

I understand that the story would have been much nicer if it was a shakedown in creepy basque borderland and SMV was ripped off illegally 2,800 US $ which will directly go to fund ETA terror ....but I have my doubts on that theory.

But for the sake of the story I will forever shut up on this matter...and have everybody enjoy the story according to their imagination.

Peace

I think you need to watch part 1 again, because the driver clearly says that they DIDN'T check him but they KNOW that he was over 3 weeks ago. You might be wanting to hear what you want to hear. Check at point 5:00 in the first video.

Moreover I think Stanely is a reasonable and thoughful guy and if the officers had substantiated evidence i.e. the information from Tachograph that clearly showed the driver was over 3 weeks ago he would not have still thought or expressed that this was a "scam".

 

[Phil Smith]

One more thing...

The reason for closing the office is probably because the office interior is more than likely under continuous video surveilance which is why the "business" isn't conducted there and recorded.

 

[Zureta]

LOL. No. But I guess based on the video, it was not a checkpoint like you cross the border into Mexico, right? If I'm wrong and our nice European brethren can tell, then fine. But it looks like vehicles were moving right along. If not a checkpoint for drunk driving, speeding, nationalization papers, etc. why PULL the bus? What was the reason?

I have passed through European borders with and without booths, and letting most cars go while only stopping large passenger vehicles doesn't look terribly suspicious to me. I've seen that before. But I don't know if that was the case or not!

In fact, we'll probably never know what exactly made they pull the bus, but all this talk of "shakedown" without any real evidence is kind of annoying. It's very close to saying the whole thing is suspicious because those sneaky "overseas" people cannot be trusted.

I keep getting a mental image of greedy, good-for-nothing corrupt Spaniards pointing at the bus and yelling "¡Los americanos ricos, ay caramba!" as they twirl their villain-issue pointy moustaches and their eyes turn into dollar signs just from thinking at the sweet booty of dólares they'll extort.

It's pretty sad to think that there are people in this very forum that would find that description more realistic than ridiculous.

 

[Cosmo_Smallpiece]

I'm sorry. I STILL don't get it. Has ANYONE addressed WHY the bus was pulled? Yeah, there's a Tacograph inside. Does it broadcast to authorites how long a driver has been working? If not, then so far, I have yet to see a PLAUSIBLE reason WHY that bus was stopped. If they're just doing "spot" checks, then alright. It just seems fishy tho.

In the UK (and I imagine in most other European countries) the police will set up checkpoints and pull over every truck and inspect the tachograph and the roadworthiness of the vehicle. It's routine, legal and sensible and no one has a problem with it.

What exactly is so fishy about it?

 

[7string]

Just incredible! Thanks to all the patient people who have posted information re drivers' hours.

If you're driving in a country, you have to abide by their rules and converse in their language. If I got stopped, I wouldn't put it on YouTube saying how wrong it was. In fact, the officers might request that I stop filming while they were checking my license and registration (which by the way, we do not have carry with us in the UK).

One should respect the laws of the land. Accusing authorities of 'robbing' them, and so the police of being corrupt, is undeniably wrong. I hope Mr. Wooten posts a video with a retraction of the accusation in the very near future.