Typical Directioal Street Sign

This is a typical direction sign in the Yucatan just outside Merida. Notice "Centro" on the top sign indicating that is the way to the center of Merida.

Driving in the USA for most of us is by instinct and inbred from birth by watching our parents and peers drive us around for our first 16 years, granted it still takes some common sense even to drive there. In Mexico the fulcrum point slides a lot more towards common sense and a lot less toward instinct. Be consciously aware of everything around you and never stop for anything in remote or unfamiliar areas unless there are official emergency vehicles directing you to do so. There are many stretches of road that are unpatrolled and are simply ruled by the law of the land which means you are in their land so you will abide by their laws, legal or not. There have been reports of staged accidents with bodies on the side of the road, knowing you will stop…DON’T!!! Continue on your normal way and then contact legal authorities when you feel safe. These incidents are few and far between, I have been driving in Mexico for 50+years and have friends who have been driving here for over 50 years as well and none of us have ever seen one. Mexican newspapers have a tendency to sensationalize all the stories and they love to print graphically violent photos.   

How to get to your particular destination and the route you should take, entirely your choice, if you feel a little uncomfortable in a foreign country I would suggest staying on major Federal highways if your funds can stand the exorbitant tolls. I will not direct you to take any specific route,  you may want to take a coastal route, you may want to go through the mountains, you may want to drive down Baja and take a ferry across the Sea of Cortez, you may want to avoid major cities and congestion, you may want to stop in all major cities, you may want to visit archeological sites and ruins, you may want to hit resorts all the way down, you may want to make a two week trip out of getting here or you may want to drive 16 hours a day and get here as fast as possible. Each of you has your own agenda and travel desires and to all I wish you a wonderful trip. What I strongly suggest is, don’t miss anything, stop and visit with locals, give the road hounds your table scraps, eat at roadside stands, drink local beer, be polite, respect others, don’t criticize local customs and guys, don’t stop and pee on the side of the road thinking because you saw 84 others doing it in three days that it is legal, it is not. You can be cited for indecent exposure, especially if a local cop sees you…the Gringo breaking the law!!! He probably will have a child with a birthday coming up soon and he will need an extra 50 dollars. Go into the jungle and pee on a Python it will be more exciting. The lack of roadside rest areas is evident all over Mexico, oh excuse me, did I say lack of, I’m sorry, I meant to say nonexistent rest areas.!

Mexican Street Signs

Street Signs:

     Below are the most common street signs in Mexico, I believe they are self explanatory. The ones missing are pretty much the same as the ones missing in the States: 1. three men leaning on shovels which means, be careful we are getting paid for doing nothing. 2. Silhouette of large pot hole which means, holy shit, what the hell was that. 3. Silhouette of dog with nose up your tail pipe which means…fearless Mexican Road Hounds who will chase you no matter what speed you are going. 4. Silhouette of peasant on roadside with fruit or veggies in hand which means, if you are dumb enough to eat it we are smart enough to sell it. The rest speak for themselves.  

Note: Speeds are indicated in kilometers and heights are measured in meters.

Gloriettas/Traffic lights

Glorietta: (traffic circle) another inexpensive way to control traffic speed and right of way at intersections. The rules for glorietta’s are very simple. Rule number one: the vehicle (car, truck, scooter or bicycle) in the circle first always has the right of way. Rule number two…there is no rule number two; always refer to rule number one!

                Traffic lights are similar to the US except that they have added a fourth faze, a flashing green light prior to the yellow, the sequence is green, 3 flashing green, yellow (very short cycle) and red. A green light means proceed, flashing green means haul ass, yellow means rapidly slow down and red means lock-them-brakes-up-now.

General Information

General Information:

            To survive in Mexico you must have some common sense, the ability to chew gum and walk at the same time also helps and the ability to do things for yourself without depending on someone else to do them for you is a plus. Common sense goes a long way in Mexico, PHD’s and “Book Learning’s” can be tossed into the bote de basura (trash can) cause ain’t nobody here who cares about them and certainly not impressed by them. You may notice that the term “common sense” is used a lot in these instructions, if you are unsure what that means … quit reading now! Close your computer and don’t plan on driving to or through Mexico….. Take a plane instead.

                Obviously you are still reading so I assume you have some common sense, good, because other than lots of money it is the single most important asset you can have while in Mexico, in reality the only time you need lots of money is when you have no common sense and you need extra cash to buy or bribe your way out of whatever you did wrong because of your lack of common sense.

Driving in Mexico:                      

            Oops, here we go again with that term “common sense” don’t leave home without it! I’m sure that not one of you would have a fear of driving through Los Angeles, Detroit or DC on a lighted Interstate at night, however if you have any common sense you would not drive through Watts in Los Angeles or through the Ghetto’s of DC or the Projects in Detroit at night unless you were in an armor plated Hummer.  

            A good rule to remember in Mexico is: Do not drive anywhere at night in Mexico unless it is an emergency or unless it is a place that you are familiar with, you have been there many times before, you know exactly how to get there and you can get there without having to stop for anything, you are not allowed to pack a pistol in Mexico so pack your common sense instead and you will never have a need for a pistol.

                Carry lots of explanatory maps, more importantly, know how to read and understand them, have a good compass in your car, if you don’t know how to use one, bring a Boy Scout or stay at home. Street signs are often none existent, wrong, missing, misleading or in Spanish which you may or may not understand anyway.

            Topes (toe-pays) are inexpensive but efficient ways to control traffic speeds in rural and residential areas, in reality they are nothing but large (very large) speed bumps that show up in the middle of nowhere with little or no warning. Basically there are only two types of drivers in Mexico, those who have hit topes at 60 mph and those that are going to hit topes at 60mph. Once you have hit a tope at 60mph (hopefully someone is with you to help pull your head out of the headliner) you will become more consciously aware of the need to look for and……fear topes. The symbol for an upcoming topes is a street sign resembling a silhouette of Dolly Parton laying on her back, if you can’t understand that, just hit one, it won’t take long, you’ll learn.