Denpasar. Tourists from Russia topped the list of traffic offenders involving foreign visitors in the resort island of Bali, the local police said on Thursday.

Most traffic offenses by foreigners were committed when they were riding rented motorcycles, Bali Police spokesman Chief Comr. Stefanus Satake Bayu told reporters.

During the past two months, the traffic police have dealt with 171 traffic offenses by foreign visitors, including 56 offenses involving Russians, Stefanus said.

Australian tourists were at a distant second with 10 traffic offenses followed by German tourists with eight offenses.

Most traffic violations involved "failure to wear a helmet, tampering with license plates, ignoring traffic signs, and having more than two persons on a motorbike", the spokesman said.

The Bali Police urge local motorcycle rental companies to oblige foreign customers to have international driver's licenses before allowing them with the ride, Stefanus added.

"The police handle traffic offenses by tourists ... but if we find them overstaying their visa we'll recommend the immigration office to take further actions such as deportation," the officer said.

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