>Technical inspection in Bolivia:
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>Yesterday, I went with my sister and her husband, to visit cementeries, where family members had been burried, in neighboring towns.
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>At the place where the road toll is payed, I payd the usual fee. A policeman looked at the car, said something about technical inspection, and pointed to the side of the road. Uh-oh - I had forgotten about that. I thought I would now have to pay a fine, or perhaps something worse.
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>It turned out they had simply placed some policemen in strategical places, to make sure the largest amount possible of cars paid for their technical inspection.
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>So, I went to the line - they had a small table, out in the open - and waited briefly. When it was my turn, the man at the table asked for the license number of the car, the name of its owner, and the car's color. He quickly filled out the form, I paid Bs. 20 (2,50 US$), and got my sticker.
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>The "technical inspection" was over, and I could continue on my way. Quick and efficient!

Hi Hilmar,
it seems me like a legale police bribe collection. :-)
In Bulgaria and in Germany we past technical inspection in autoservices.
They check all the things with stands and equipment and if something is not the required range you are obligated to fix your car. Or in the service the make required repairs if you like.
here police can check only your stickers that you past it on time