Driving in Mexico

I drive at least weekly, and take extended road trips, so this is a topic I think I can deal with. The driving here is not casual, people are not just wandering around, texting and chatting The driving is actually, on the whole very skillful, often fast, but not actually aggressive in that they will fill a hole in traffic, but not totally cut you off for the most part. It's more of a blending, visualize the movements and flow of ant colonies and you get the picture.. They also don't stop to look at accidents, but adjust and continue moving, which is very refreshing. They have the best parallel parking skills I have ever seen.

The toll roads are in pretty good shape, but the speed bumps and pot holes on side roads are often very serious. You must be looking for them continuously. They are often not marked at all, and if you are not watching you will find yourself flying.

If you like to just drift down the road looking at the view, it would be better to take the bus.

There are some different rules, or perhaps they are habits. If someone is driving down the road with their left signal going , it probably means one of three things. They plan to turn left if a road is coming up, they plan on passing the guy in front of them, or if there is no indication that they are doing that , they want you to know they see you, and it is safe for you to pass them. They have not just forgotten to turn it off.

Just a few minutes watching them handle a round about should tell you a lot. If you are too timid they will go, and they are very well aware whose turn it is. In two years on the road here I have seen 2 accidents. Be prepared to pay constant attention and learn and you will be fine.

Road signs are a whole other topic in themselves. Suffice to say they often have one , possible two signs before your turn off, and they are often not obvious. .G.P.S. have problems in Mexico, so don't count on them to save you.

Hi,

I have lived in Mexico for more than 20 years in Mexico, in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. This a city of 200,000 on the border about 25 miles south of Yuma, Az. I drive on a daily basis in Mexico.

The most import thing , when driving in Mexico, is to have good insurance coverage from a Mexican Insurance Company. US companies are not valid in Mexico, as far as, anything pertaining to Mexican law. If you are just taking a short trip into Mexico you can buy it near a border crossing in US. Better to buy before you go into Mexico.

If you get into an accident with bodily injury, and the police find you at fault, you will be held in jail until all the expenses, including medical bills of the other party,  are fully paid or formal arrangements payments are made.That is why it is so important to have an auto policy issued by a Mexican insurance company. You should get a plan that includes the services of a Mexican lawyer who speaks English, They are generally readily available at the aforementioned border crossing insurance offices.

If you get in an accident in Mexico, you as the foreigner,  will most likely be found at fault by the police. I have seen that happen a number of times in Mexico.

The advise about road bumps, pot holes, etc in the other reply is also very correct. Look for signs that say Topes, which mean there is a speed bump ahead. Pot holes you just have to be on the watch for all the time. They are so bad in some areas you better off driving a suv, pickup, or 4x4 to be able to not sustain damage to your car.

Always drive in a defensive manner, that can save you many headaches.

Do not give a one digit salute or other types of derogatory signing to people because they often get very angry very quickly and can cause you serious problems.

Best wishes for driving in Mexico.

Hiya,

I live in mexico city and I drive daily.
Driving in Mexico City can be a bit frustrating at first but you get accustomed eventually.
The rules are not shared only the police (though not all) know and use them against you when they need something.
But in general, those rules applied in your country are applied in Mexico.

Traffic monday through friday is horrible but saturdays and sundays are tolerable. When it rains people go crazy so be careful. The roads are full of wholes, pits and bumps so be very careful when you don't know the road very well - i mean slow down and watch out. Don't pay attention to the honkers, keep calm and you drive at your pace.

Be extremely cautious with parking because, they fine you, or they have your wheels chained, or they take your car away(and seriously in this case, it's fucking complicated).

Wish you a good luck!

A variety of differences driving in Mexico compared to US (at least in the smaller cities). First is that cars are very often not well maintained. Brake lights often do not function. Drivers typically don't use hand signals. Brakes get replaced after cars have an accident. Stopping in the middle of the road is commonplace. Pedestrians wander into roadways- I have learned that not only do many not own cars, many have never RIDDEN in cars...they are not being rude, they do not know what to look out for. (This especially true on unpaved roads). Same goes for bicycle riders.

When I first moved here (7 years ago) I thought "Stop signs and stop lights are only a suggestion" was a joke..it is not. Intersections are very dangerous. And forget the UNO a UNO at four-ways. ALWAYS be prepared to yield.

Also one must learn the new language of horn-speak. A light tap typically means go ahead, instead of lookout. A steady blare means you are about to get hit. After yielding to another car, a light one or two-tap by the other driver means "muchas gracias".

in short... DRIVE SLOWLY, LEAVE EXTRA ROOM BETWEEN YOU AND CAR IN FRONT OF YOU, WATCH OUT FOR PEDESTRIANS. AND THE MANY DOGS THAT ARE EVERYWHERE, AND ARE HELPLESS- they need you to watch out for them.

Driving in Mexico is "interesting", to say the least. There are worse countries, to be sure (try driving in New Dehli sometime!)
But the biggest problem with driving in Mexico is that there seems to be a universal lack of respect for traffic regulations. Basic things, such as obeying stop signs, are nearly always ignored. The most conscientious drivers will perform what some know as a "rolling stop". Many, however, don't make even a token effort to slow down. Even when a police vehicle is present, most drivers don't actually "stop"... they slow, roll into the intersection, then proceed. They don't care, because the police don't care. And it's obvious the police don't care, because they don't stop, either.
To prove my point, when my daughter was about to receive her license, I took her to a busy 4-way stop a few blocks from our home - we parked and began counting the vehicles. We stopped counting at 70. Of all 70, only ONE actually stopped - and he stopped in the middle of the intersection, and only then because someone else was turning across in front of him!
The scary thing is, you get used to it.

Driving in Zacatecas, Zacatecas may be the exception that proves the rule.
People respect traffic lights and stop signs and they observe the one x one rule at uncontrolled intersections.
They'll courteously yield to a car turning left and a pedestrian doesn't wait long for a driver to stop so he can cross the street.

Driving extensively between Zacatecas and Zamora, Michocan and driving through the state of Michoacan, I found the driving much less stressful than in Las Vegas, NV.

Depending on the state within Mexico in which you drive you will find that the driver courtesy and driver ability is extremely variable.  While driver's licenses are required to drive in Mexico you will find that some drive without one and also without insurance.  Possibly because of the difficulty in driving within Mexico City the driver's from that area do not have much or any courtesy.  Driving on the cuotas (toll roads) is advisable for distance driving though the tolls are expensive.  Speed limits vary but most cuotas are set between 120 kph on the upper end and 80 kph on the lower end.  Most Mexican drivers will drive much faster than that posted maximum.  Try to remain in the slower lane unless you wish to drive at higher speeds as the faster drivers will run right up to and sit on your rear bumper.  Mexicans by and large HATE to be behind someone and will make extra lanes or ignore safe practices to pass.  No pass lines and other passing restrictions on the libre (the free (no toll) roads are routinely ignored and passing drivers will intrude into the other (head on) lane to get around expecting that both the driver in the other lane and the driver in your lane will yield.

In Mexico by treatment as opposed to the law stop signs are treated as yield signs sometime even when "Alto Total" (a total stop) is added to the normal "Alto" (stop) sign.  Also in Mexico as you approach a village to town they will use speed bumps ("topos") which are many times either not indicated by a sign or with the sign posted right next to the speed bump.  These will really rattle your teeth not to mention jar your suspension and knock it out of alignment.  Just about any place or anyone puts in these bumps.

My best advice to anyone driving in Mexico is to drive for three.  First, drive defensively regarding the other guy (drive for the other guy).  Second, drive defensively for your own well being.  Third, drive as though, at any time, someone in front or behind you will do something that is contrary to any sensible or reasonable person.  This is because it is completely acceptable to them in doing what it is that they want to do or to accomplish what they want to do.

In San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato there are no traffic signals ("semaphoro" (sp?)) only traffic circles or roundabouts.  For this reason and at "t" intersections driver courtesy is extremely important.  The SMdA native drivers are generally very courteous and will let you into the stream of traffic.  Very important however is to be aware of the license plate of the other guy because, yet again, the drivers from the "DF" (Mexico City) will take advantage of any hesitation no matter how slight to obviate this level of courtesy.  The taxi drivers in SMdA are generally very courteous while in Acapulco they are not and drive extremely erratic and without caution or regard.

Night driving requires an even higher level of caution as Mexican roads are not or poorly illuminated.

The general rule for driving in Mexico is that, when there is an intention to move into your lane or to take an action advantageous to the other drive,r they will avoid looking at you (eye contact) as a type of method for making you responsible or to yield (give way).  It introduces a level of doubt and forces you to take precautions.

Toll road conditions are generally very good though there are sections on the drive up to the U.S. border or to Puebla where the roads are not in good condition and for which you will still pay.  By and large the toll roads are better and safer than the free roads.

fourth possibility if car in front has left turn signal blinking: He is about to stop, in the middle of the road. He has his emergency flashers on. But the right turn indicator burned out 27 years ago and he is saving up so he can buy a new one. Thus, only the left signal is blinking. Confusing, frustrating, and dangerous. Viva la Mexico

The thought of driving in México strikes a deadly fear into the hearts of many Americans and Canadians alike. Of course, they purchased Méxican car insurance when they crossed the border. Yet somehow this only made them feel legal, but not safe. Now here's the reality as they ease their $46,000 BMW onto the pavement and point it south.
    They have heard that there is no rhyme or reason to the driving there, and any clown can get a license. There is some documentary evidence for this belief. (See the photo) But they are tourists in the classical sense, and they want to cruise from town to town and only stop when the spirit moves them. Serendipity is a proven value in their lives, and they would never be caught taking a package tour, even to Antarctica. Furthermore, they hate what air travel has become.
    Isn't that the dilemma for many travelers to Latin America?
    Before my wife and I moved to San Miguel de Allende in 2007, she was driving a Saab and I drove an Infiniti. We knew they couldn't easily be serviced in this mountain town of 75,000, so we sold them and bought a Ford Edge when we arrived. There was the choice between a passenger vehicle and a pickup, and we had heard that license plates were much cheaper on new pickups, but we felt because of the limited passenger capacity, we had to choose the car. After all, wouldn't hundreds of our friends and family from the U.S. soon be flocking down to see us? We hadn't yet reckoned on the crusading American media, obviously.
    Unfortunately, our estimate of the pickup's passenger capacity was wildly off too. We've since been keeping a running count on the record for the most passengers in a pickup. It presently stands at sixteen people and a dog. This can be very handy running back and forth to the countryside with your extended family, but it occasionally results in some astounding highway accidents.
    San Miguel is a great historic town, and appropriately, it has no traffic lights. Major intersections on the outskirts are handled by roundabouts, which are called glorietas here. The idea is simple, although it looks daunting to many. The center island is about a hundred feet across. In the middle is a monument to a patriotic figure, although some believe the statue represents Chaos, the god of traffic. Four streets converge at the circle.
    Within, traffic moves counterclockwise. You enter after yielding to the left, and continue around to the right until you exit on the first, second or third street. Or you can go completely around when you're doubling back. If you can keep your wits about you it works well. People are generally polite and orderly. The worst move you can make is to freeze up, come to a complete stop within the circle, and cover your face with your hands. I have seen this happen and it's never well received. People will start to nudge you along.
    This town has a number of stop signs, none of them in the central part. They are treated as advisory in nature, and I have never seen anyone stop for one unless the failure to do so would result in a collision. This includes me.
    All other intersections are handled on an alternating basis. You go, then I go, etc. Everyone understands this and it works well unless the other car is driven by a person from México City, Guadalajara, or the northern border states. In that case you are regarded as a fool and a victim for letting him through. This attitude will be well understood by people who regularly drive in the U.S.
Aside from this, in general there is an attitude of live and let live. I have not seen road rage here among Méxicans, only Americans. Indeed, people are tolerant of what I regard as free-style driving. A certain amount of improvisation is customary. If you see someone approaching head-on in your lane, the natural thing to do is change lanes yourself into oncoming traffic, which will then slow down to allow your eventual return to your own lane.
    The concept of speed limits is understood only by the transit authorities, and is the object of crude humor among the general population.
    Flashing colored lights are appreciated for themselves, but using them to signal turns when mounted on cars is a concept that has not yet caught on in México. One exception is their use on trucks in highway settings. Say you are behind a truck signaling with the left blinker. This means either, Pass me because it's clear ahead, or I am going to turn left now. Your life depends on how you scan the nuance of this.
    In San Miguel, the streets are generally constructed from the two most common compounds on earth: dirt, and stones about the size of a large grapefruit. The stones are simply set in a matrix of dirt. Over time, the dirt is pounded into a fine dry powder that floats upward and seeks the interior of your electronic equipment, where it settles once again in the tiny connections between the wires. Over time the cobblestones loosen and have to be repacked in more dirt. Driving over this rugged surface, charmingly suggestive of medieval London or Paris, gradually loosens all the nuts and bolts in your car until your new BMW sounds like a 1960s jug band as it lurches down the street.
    Both tires and shock absorbers have the life expectancy of a butterfly in a hurricane. What the streets do not do to your car, the sun and weather will.
    By now I hope I have established that what at first appears to be random and senseless is really a functioning system that can be understood by most visitors with a knack for improvisation and a broad sense of humor. I should point out that I have written mainly about driving in San Miguel. Regional differences exist.
    A final word about parking. Someone once asked me how my detective character always finds a parking place in San Miguel. That, I replied, is why it's called fiction.

John Scherber

www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com

I have lived in Cancun for the last 6 years and personally dont drive here because in my opinion people here are not the best drivers.  Seems to be a lot of single car accidents.    The main difference I have noticed between driving here and driving back in the USA is that driving here the rule seems to be each driver is focused on their driving and not really in tune with everyone around them.

  What I mean is in the USA and maybe here but I have not seen it, when you merge you wait for an opening or people generally slow down to let you in the flow of traffic, where here no one will slow down so you have to just take that spot even if that means cutting everyone off in the process.  Simply said in Mexico it is all about offensive driving vs defensive driving.

" DRIVE SLOWLY, LEAVE EXTRA ROOM BETWEEN YOU AND CAR IN FRONT OF YOU, WATCH OUT FOR PEDESTRIANS. AND THE MANY DOGS THAT ARE EVERYWHERE,"

This is so, but there are some things you get to understand as your drive various areas and different states. One of those things is stop signs. What the intent seems to be, is to indicate there is a cross street, so you had better pay attention because you may need to stop. No one I have seen takes stop signs literally. I don't believe they are just breaking the law as they would be in the U.S., because their intent is for you to stop if it is necessary. The other consideration is that the direction of the street is a major factor. It is determined that streets traveling say N-S have the right-away. In that case those traveling E-W would be required to yield, or stop. The N-S traffic would just continue. My street goes North to town I don't stop until I come to the signal. The next street over goes South , away from town, they don't stop either. Every cross street has a "alto" sign.

"Drivers typically don't use hand signals. Brakes get replaced after cars have an accident. Stopping in the middle of the road is commonplace. Pedestrians wander into roadways- I have learned that not only do many not own cars, many have never RIDDEN in cars...they are not being rude, they do not know what to look out for. (This especially true on unpaved roads). Same goes for bicycle riders."

You must be in a very primitive area. I have found people are very familiar with cars, and I don't know anyone who has not ridden in one. Many use motor scooters, or motorcycles. Those can get pretty hairy because they go where ever they can fit their bike in. You really have to be looking out for them because they are very casual about traffic.

Who in America or Canada uses hand signals ? I haven't seen that in many. many years anywhere.  The rules in the U.S. are similar to many of the rules in Mexico, but they are not the same.

Since I live in a small town, I can not speak for the greater part of Mexico but here it is not life threating. When I drive to the border in Mexicali,120mi it is good until I get there and then it is slow and easy. They are crazy.

I personally seldom drive here in Mexico, mainly because I don´t speak Spanish well enough to deal with the ´discussion´ which always occurs after a traffic accident. Drivers want to argue about who´s at fault.

Some important differences in traffic etiquette in Mexico (City, anyway) versus the rest of North America. There are no designated turn lanes so drivers can, and do, turn from more than one lane, often cutting you off. If the driver or passenger in a car beside you makes a hand signal, it means they are serious about entering your lane so best that you let them in to avoid a crash.The car´s turn signals are normally only used for highway driving.Some drivers are compulsive honkers so generally just ignore folks honking behind you. One very important exception here: do not ignore a honk coming from traffic perpendicular to your lane at an intersection. Drivers who are running a red light/stop sign normally honk in order to let you know they are coming through - usually at high speed.

Lastly, in Mexico City the regular police do not have responsibility for enforcing traffic laws. Only the transit police have that duty and, in my experience, transit police are as scarce as hen´s teeth. It´s actually quite amazing that traffic flows as well and as orderly as it does, given the near total lack of enforcement officers.

Driving in DF?? You're a brave young woman. DF isn't the worse place to drive in the world (Asia, pick any country) but it's another planet compared to your native land I'm sure. Mexico, like anywhere where road space is minuscule & congested with too many vehicles of all types, lacks the ideology of road courtesy which makes walking treacherous much less driving. In the north, I've found it to be very different due to the ample design of the streets. The colonialism is less which is a wonderful charm of the center and south but owning a car is less frustrating. Good luck!

If you venture out of Cancun, you might find that much of what you see there is tourist driven. A significant number of those drivers are your fellow  Americans in a rental car. I have visited Cancun many times, and will again soon. When I'm there I am driving my car and all is normal until I get to the major tourist areas. Cancun is not an average Mexican town.

A Mexican characteristic that is shared amongst some dense population cultures is the turning lane phenomenon.  Its characteristic is when an opening exists between two parallel roads going in opposite directions for turning or for making a "U" turn, few want to be behind the first person in the turning lane.  They seek to take some kind of advantage in getting ahead of everyone.  So they will pull up next to or fill the turning opening up to six deep and then, depending on the amount of guts, will pull in front of or in some cases even block that driver waiting in the turning lane.

The other interesting phenomenon is the double and triple parking both with a driver waiting but predominantly just a form of parking.  This until the traffic can very nearly not move down the street or is funneled into one lane.  This one lane will not be tolerated for long and will become up to three lanes as the drivers compete to get ahead of, at the very least, the guy in front of them.  This will appear roughly approximate to the rush hour Calley (sp?) Tunnel process in Boston where five lanes funnels down to two with a considerable amount of jockeying around to move into the line for those two lanes.

I haven't read any of the other expat's driving experiences so I might be repeating what has already been mentioned. I lived in Distrito Federal for 10 years so I think my point of view regarding driving in Mexico is very valid though perhaps a bit biased. I received my permanent Mexican license in 20 minutes at the local Gigante (now called Soriana, basically a Walmart) without doing any sort of practical test. At first I was happy that I didn't have to study or prepare for it since god knows getting a full Aussie license was a long and tedious process, but once I started driving daily I found myself constantly cursing the general lack of drivers education and respect on the roads.

For example, there seems to be an unspoken non-rule that if you honk a split second before arriving at an intersection then you have no safety obligation to anyone you might hit/kill as you speed on through it carelessly. It is also extremely stressful. People tend to create extra lanes during peak hours. A 2 lane street can turn into a makeshift 4 or 5 lane street straight to hell in a matter of minutes. Seriously, there would often be no more than a few millimeters between my car's side mirrors and a those of fellow commuters, effectively nullifying the advantages of driving around in a nice car. A slightly unfair but true analogy would be to say that driving in Distrito Federal is very much like driving in the wild west with a lot of transit cops just out hunting for their next bribe. I apologize to my Mexican friends if that offends you but I think most would agree with me on that.

Over the space of 10 years I was involved in a couple of serious car crashes, all caused by other people who were either texting, speeding through intersections or drunk. I was probably an unlucky statistic, but after the last one which was actually a dead set hit and run by a middle age woman in an SUV I decided not to risk my safety anymore and began taking public transport from then on. The moral of the story is don't drive in Mexico City unless you like stress and constant danger.

In Mexico City's defense, things have been getting better as the city's road and traffic infrastructure improves, along with the "hoy no circula" and excellent eco-bici initiatives. Still, it has a long way to go before reaching first world standards of drivers safety.

Yes Hooyah,

I have seen both of those things. Pulling up next to the left turning car is especially annoying but predictable. That happens here to some extent.

I have seen the double parking in one town , I think it was Las Mochas, fortunately they do not do that here.

The thing I pay the most attention to is the scooter and motorcycle traffic. Some have whole families on one bike. Which is illegal...But. Anyway they seem to have developed their own rules more or less. There is nothing more tedious than making a left turn and having one of those on your left and another on your right. They will go faster than the regular traffic in town, and put themselves where ever their bike fits. On the open road they are often very slow and ride on the shoulder.