Tips on Navigating Mexico’s Roadways

By Mexico Mike

This is the second in a series of guest posts by Mexico Mike about driving, insurance and documentation requirements in Mexico. During his tenure with Sanborn’s Mexico Insurance Service, Mike acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of Mexico’s highways. His familiarity with nation’s roadways  and unique perspective on why he believes the country is safer than the U.S. was the subject this New York Times story. On his Web site, Mike offers driving tips, maps, and information on insurance requirements. He is also an expert on spas and hot springs in Mexico.

I’ve driven, according to the Wall Street Journal about a million miles. That’s half true. I’ve never seen a bandito except for toll road collectors (tolls are high). But today, people ask about safety in general as well as safety in driving, so here is my take on the issues.

Now, some ask why I think it is safer to drive in Mexico than in the USA. Isn’t that going against common knowledge? Nope. When you are driving in Mexico, you are probably more focused and less likely to be chatting on a cell phone.

The other drivers (who unfortunately in today’s Mexico may be chatting on a cell phone) generally pay more attention because Mexican highway conditions change.

Figure Out Where You’re Going Ahead of Time. There is less dependence on ‘Big Brother’ to protect you. On the toll roads, there is not much traffic. In the cities, however, traffic is much more confusing. The very nice Mexican people morph into impolite drivers, so read a map and figure out where you are going before you get into city traffic.

Photo by Alex Steffler (Via Creative Commons)

Here are some tips for navigating Mexico’s roads:

• If you get lost in the city, hire a taxi driver to show you where you want to go.

• Exercise patience. On mountain roads with blind curves leave the passing to the idiots behind you. Just when you lose faith, there will be a wide spot in the road to pull off or a place where visibility is good enough to pass. Trust me.

• On the open road, don’t make a left turn from a two-lane road if there is any traffic at all. There are pullouts to the right, where you pull over, angle your vehicle towards the way you want to go and have a clean shot to cross the road.

• Limit night-time driving to toll roads. The caveat about not driving at night is one of those things about Mexico that always spirited discussions. Before I get into the basis for this statement, here is the short version. On toll roads, I have no worries about driving at night. On the free roads, I generally do not. Now for the rest of the story.

The really main reason for discouraging people from driving at night was that Mexico used to be open range and there were meandering cows and an occasional lost caballo on the roadways. Since the toll roads are fenced and the ranchers got tired of losing their livestock, so they put up fences, the toll roads are safe to drive at night.

But the more salacious stories caught on, so you are more likely to read the following reasons to avoid driving at night. Not everyone believes in headlights and not every old car was endowed with working taillights.

Peculiarities of Mexico’s Roadways. On the free roads, people still put a pile of rocks on the road to warn drivers that they’re broken down ahead. They don’t collect the rocks when they leave.

There are fences along highways, but cows and horses still wander on the road. I nearly hit a cow once, and while the adrenalin rush was fun, I don’t recommend it.

Anyone who has driven Mexico in the last five years has noticed a tremendous change in the vehicles on the road. There are very few junkers on the main highways. More Mexicans drive newer cars than twenty years ago. And people in general are more aware of safety, so the old one-headlight car with no taillights is the exception rather than the rule.

Better Roads, But Some Surprises Still Remain. But, even though most roads are a lot better than they used to be, there are not as many lights on the road, there is not nice little white stripe on the outer edges, there are not consistently shoulders and there are just too many surprises for my tastes.

Can women travel alone? Absolutely. Many have told me they feel safer in Mexico than the States. Will someone steal your car? It’s not any more likely in Mexico and in some ways less so. In Mexico there are still parking lots with attendants. Use them.

RV’s can safely drive anywhere in Mexico, though the toll roads will be easier. There are RV parks in most areas. Get the book, The Traveler’s Guide to Mexican Camping.