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In any country, visitors are subject to the local laws and practices, of course, and sometimes you get the raw deal. Warnings about driving in Mexico appear in the State Department's consular information sheet on Mexico, but no mention is made of shakedowns.

I posed your question to "Mexico Mike" Nelson, a Mexican guidebook author who's covered more road miles there than anyone I know and who publishes a newsletter, "Latin America Travel & Business Report." His response:

In my more than 20 years of driving, I have been stopped by corrupt cops three times. I am not an apologist for Mexico, but wonder why your reader is so unlucky. I wrote a couple of pages on how to deal with this situation in the book "Live Better South of the Border," and have an article with condensed information in my latest newsletter.

You can tell the cops you want to go to the "comandancia" (police station). If the stop is bogus, they will hem and haw and ask for a lower fine. If it is legit, the fine will still be much lower. If you don't want to deal with it, you can pay something (though that only perpetuates the problem and is not what I recommend), but for God's sake, do not be so generous. A cop makes about $3-$4 a day!

While he has to split the income three or four ways, a $10 "fine" is plenty. You just have to be persistent.

You can find more driving and road safety advice at the Mexico Mike site.

The topics of tourist rights and the police also are addressed in "The People's Guide to Mexico" by Carl Franz (John Muir Publications, revised 1998), including a section called "Do Tourists Need to Worry About the Cops?" Its advice? If you're stopped for traffic violations, above all, don't start shouting about how you're an American citizen and have rights. It also warns "punks, bikers, skinheads and aging hippies" that the less you resemble an average tourist, the more attention you may get from authorities. Another section is "A Field Guide to Mexican Cops."

I'm planning a cross-country drive from Baltimore to the Los Angeles area. Where should I look for inexpensive accommodations en route? At this time of year, you should have no trouble finding inexpensive lodging on your drive to California. I made a similar trip a couple of years ago, and when it came time to stop each day, we were always able to find lodging in one of the major economy chains for $60 or less. If you're on your own, I wouldn't be surprised if you could find acceptable places for $40 or so each night.

If you wanted to be obsessive, you could get the nationwide guides published by economy hotel chains, allowing you to plot precisely where you'll stay or even make reservations. You could also visit their Web sites. Among them are the Super 8 Motel chain, Choice Hotels (Comfort, Quality, Sleep Inns) and the Motel 6 chain.

As you make your way west, keep in mind that bad weather can fill up roadside motels even in the off season. If you're driving into a storm, you may want to grab a place sooner rather than later. Also, prices tend to be lower at interstate exchanges with many competing motels. A good way to get a discount even when the prices are low is to carry a AAA motor club card, good for 10 percent off at a huge number of motels.

You can sometimes save by using coupons found in newsprint coupon guides found at rest stops. One such guide that pinpoints interstate motels and offers coupons is the Traveler Discount Guide, available for $3 by calling (800) 332-3948. The parent company produces 16 guides covering 35 states with more than 4,600 hotels. Another company offering similar coupon guides is Mr. Interstate, phone (800) 556-1218.

For REALLY cheap lodging, consider "Jim's Backpackers Guide," a directory of hostels and other economy lodging, available for $8 per copy, postage and handling included, from P.O. Box 5650, Santa Monica, CA 90409.

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