A trap for Kiwi drivers in Fiji, is the propensity of Fiji cops to book you if you are going over the limit before you pass the sign. In my case, this morning, I was doing the same thing as 4,000,000 Kiwi drivers and that was on approaching the "Open Road" sign , which is just the unpainted reverse of the sign saying you are entering a 60 kph zone, and was speeding up as I approached it, when a nice gentleman, holding something resembling a hair dryer jumped out in front of me and signaled that I pull over. 

The nice man, who, going by his uniform turned out to be a policeman who directed my attention to his hair dryer which had numbers that registered '74' and '345' on it. He explained that these numbers indicated the speed I was doing  and the distance I was from hair dryer when he clicked the button. He then explained with brutal logic, that as the sign was only 340 metres away, that 5 metres inside the 60 kph zone, I was doing 74 kph.

So, caught like a rat in a trap, I could only produce my New Zealand licence, and apologise that I no longer possessed a Fiji one due to the dact that I no longer resided here, and was in fact due to fly  out on Friday next. After noting the details on a piece of paper on his clipboard, his gaze lingered speculatively on me as he weighed up the chances that I was spinning him line, which, I suspect in his world was a very regular occurrence. For once I buttoned my lip and waited. Finally, he handed my licence back, and with a small smile, said "Good luck."

"Thank you, Sir," I said, and hastened back to the car before he changed his mind!

Needless to say, a chastened Kiwi's driving was a model of impeccable behaviour for the rest of the day.