There is something which I never expected given the ambient mess on the roads in Iran was to make me stop here traffic offenders.
Admittedly, I never was a champion of compliance (I only have 4 points on my license), but the Iranians are even more so ... with the addition of a certain passivity of the local constabulary.
So, back to my case, I still found a way to make me stop here 5 or 6 times, mostly for speeding.
Here is what happens during a debriefing of a foreigner in Iran (take for example my last experience):
That day, while returning from a Excursion outside Tehran, I made myself take for exceeding the speed limit (to my great regret, the cops also have radar here): It beckons me to stop, I do it and tidy my good old 405 the low side. I take my papers and walked towards the police vehicle (here, the cop is a little lazy, it does budge the air-conditioned vehicle in which he is).
"Hello Mr. agent " I say in French ... always in French. And then, I confess ... I always delights of this little moment where I see the face of my interlocutor decompose.
Generally, after having vainly searched for a potential hello (a colleague, a passing glance ... any anything that can talk them into a foreign language with me), and not knowing what to do, he tries it luck in Persian with big gestures, lack of a better ....
A little sadistic (I guess even when he tells me), I make him understand that I do not pick a word, and finally the discussion (if you can call it that) goes.
Well, this time, my cop me jabbers "Speed" and "Card" (not my day! I came across a "bilingual"). I hand him my papers a bit disappointed. And then .... Second effect Kiss Cool. I see him make great sighs before my international license. It must be said that the IDP is written in full language, but not in Persian, and when it is not read Latin letters, it is even harder. Briefly, after some hesitation, he makes me and beckons me to look elsewhere if there is.
You tell me: in all countries is the same! The cops are not known for their knowledge of other languages.
But here in force to limit drastically the number of foreign, often the cops are totally taken by surprise when it falls on us. It is even more true outside of Tehran.
Finally ... I'm not complaining. It saved me anyway any verbalization for a year.
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