The information provided in all Mexican pages are only suggestions and anecdotal stories.  The information in the Mexican pages is a generic peace of work and is meant only as a general guide, it should not be taken as absolute fact. The information provided in these pages can change at any given day.

People who have obviously never driven one foot on a Mexican road or street wrote most of the negative articles that I've read about driving in México. México's traffic signals and laws are almost identical to our own laws and signals. Traffic Lights use the standard Green/Amber/Red configuration, cautionary signs are yellow and diamond shaped, and stop signs are (supposed to be) octagon with white lettering on a bright red background. Throughout the country it is legal to make a right turn after a stop (unless prohibited with a sign). In fact México has adopted many of the sign and signal formats that we are familiar with. 

Never Do Anything Unexpected But Always Expect The Unexpected. The way I see it too many accidents occur between RV's and residents because the RV driver swerved, changed lanes, pulled out, or turned a corner without looking first. Méxican drivers seldom use turn signals themselves but they certainly understand their function. In México you must drive your RV in such a fashion that other drivers can predict your next move with some degree of certainty. Most city drivers are used to RV's. They expect RV's to lumber their way through town. Don't worry when impatient motorists roar around you either, because on the open highway the same drivers do the same thing when passing a bus doing eighty miles per hour. If you're swinging wide at a corner in order to make a right turn and a tiny sedan squeezes it's way up the curb alongside, have your co-pilot hang out the window and point which direction you intend to go. Make them back up before you turn. Mexicans love to crowd two cars abreast per lane. Again: Drive in a predictable fashion. Use turn signals. If you wish to change lanes or turn across traffic in bumper-to-bumper traffic cut you wheels over hard when stopped and make little surging motions with accelerator and brake. Mexican drivers are about as courteous as California drivers (not necessarily a compliment).

Estacionamiento.  This is a great word to practice the pronunciation of español vowels. Es-stah-see-yawn-ah-me-en-toh. Try saying it a few times. When you see it or a large "E" near a parking lot, or space, you'll remember what it stands for (parking). A sign with a large E surrounded by a red circle with a diagonal slash means No Parking. Look closely at parking signs and you might see small numbers indicting total parking hours permitted or the time of day that parking is permitted.

Méxican stores allot much less space for parking than do similar size US stores. Only an optimist would drive a motorhome or pickup with 5^th wheel to go "grocery shopping". Parking spaces are for cars and are tight. Aisles leave scant room for turning and maneuvering of compact cars let alone an RV. I've learned to use México's wonderful public transit system, hauling my groceries home in two sewn canvas shopping bags.

Penalties for school-zone speeding are dramatic in the US, and our neighbor generally agrees with the strict policy. Neighborhood pressure can increase to the point where a cop has to cite a speeding RV'er regardless if the driver spotted (or intended to obey) a nearby speed limit sign. For whatever reason the American (or Canadian) may come away with the impression that they have been "ripped-off". 

Many drivers are polite and they drive in a cautious manner. But good percentage drive like adolescents --too fast for conditions. According to recently released statistics México's accident rate is six times higher per hundred thousand miles than it is in the US. Most accidents happen after dark, and many involve drinking drivers. In fact a large majority of accidents happen between two drivers that are both driving unsafely.

As you will probably experience at the border entering México, drivers crowd, and jostle for position when queuing in front of traffic signals, toll booths, and lane merging zones. They aren't raging maniacs but opportunists who will instantly wedge into a opening barely bigger than their car if they feel that doing so will give them an advantage.

Méxican truck drivers love the pulsing throb of an unmuffled four hundred horsepower diesel engine. Many trucks and buses have straight exhaust pipes. Trucks with engine exhaust brakes allow the driver to emit various chords of racket -- occasionally you'll hear "Shave And A Haircut, Go Team Go" and other melodious emissions. Mexicans use their horns as a form of audible telegraph -- a pretty señorita walking by a street full of macho truck drivers for instance, will encourage various salutations of wolf-whistles, roars and screeches.

Rather than waste their turn signals on frivolous issues (like signaling for a turn) Méxican drivers advise following traffic when they think it's safe for you to pass them. The signal is a steady blinking left turn signal. This occurs on the open highway. In developed areas and or if brake lights are seen, prepare to brake because the left turn signal is being used for its original intended purpose.

Automobiles are an expensive luxury for most Mexicans. The county's bus system is gargantuan and well developed. On the open highway buses tend to run flat-out, then slam on the brakes for a fare waiting on the side of the road. If you're unlucky enough to be caught in this situation, you'll end up playing tag numerous times. 

 Note: Mexican intra-city buses frequently have restrooms aboard which need to be emptied. You can follow buses to their city terminals in order to empty your holding tanks (for a modest fee of course).

Approaching cars that flash their headlights are warning of imminent danger ahead. The danger night be a collapsed bridge, a romantic bull dallying on the centerline or a stalled (or overturned) big-rig. Try considering it an obligation to pass the message along in turn. The impromptu early warning system has saved countless lives and spared thousand of injuries.

On rural roads a person waving an article of clothing at you is a sure sign that a stalled car or truck lies around the next blind curve. I've seen a row of beer bottles, several bucket sized rocks, and a derelict armchair used to warn oncoming traffic. Any foreign object in the road (even an exploded muffler) must be treated as a warning of a dangerous obstacle ahead.

México is an old country. Many towns were founded and expanded when horse drawn buggies and wagons ruled the roads. A wide street can become incredibly narrow and crooked in a matter of a few blocks. Bypass ring roads (called Perifericos) encourage drivers to avoid city center areas (signed Centro). Before you try to jam your thirty-foot motorhome through a fifteen-foot intersection, explore the town or village Centro on foot. Of course if you follow a bus or large truck you shouldn't have any problem.

Studies have shown that ninety percent of the fatal accidents in México occur between dusk and dawn. Drinking drivers are found on the road. 

Driving at night in México is best left to those drivers who have an unshakable belief in their immortality. 

Note: With reasonable care driving on toll roads can be quite enjoyable at night. Remember though, eventually you're going to have to negotiate your way through a "mine field" to get to your destination.

Some delinquentes (petty criminals) think that they can stop people in the middle of the night on a lonely stretch of road and take their money. This is unusual now because the army like to find these criminals and put them away. Bandits are an endangered species these days. In the last ten years the government has beefed-up patrols on major roads. Daylight driving completely eliminates the bandit's favored environment. Unless you travel extensively at night on backcountry roads the chances of meeting a bandito are almost nil. 

To highly organized color-code-conscious American eyes the Mexican visual driving scene is something akin to a Christmas tree. Diesel trucks flash by with strings of multi-colored marker lights. Tow trucks amble down the road flashing blue and red overhead lights. Interpret these warning lights with a grain of salt. Cop cars, fire engines and ambulances are unmistakable in appearance. The rules governing their right-of-way is exactly the same as in the US.

And finally, when you see the truck in front of you with his left turn lights flashing, you may be getting a signal which by local custom means it's safe to pass. 

Plan on driving no more than five or six hours a day. Allow an hour for lunch, and three twenty-minute rest stops.  Big-rig drivers will pull over for a two to three hour siesta. The hour varies with the region, but try to time it so mountain passes, steep grades and other critical stretches are dealt with "minus the diesel semi's".

México uses its Army and Navy as "National Police". Occasional checkpoints (called retenés) are encountered. They are looking for narcotics and illegal firearms.  In truth they are young men separated from their families by thousands of miles (they are never stationed close to home). In the "unseen" war on drugs in México, these young men are risking their lives in remote areas when you are safely tucked in your bed at night. After a brief look around inside tour RV, they wave you to proceed.  If you camp in an area that requires you to pass repeatedly through a particular reten make it a point to introduce yourself to the various crew shifts.

There is only one brand to choose from (Pemex) and prices are uniform throughout the country. Stations are not referred to as "Estaciones de Pemex" by the way. The are called Gasolinerias (gah-so-leen-AHR-ee-ahs). Overhead signs are white on Green. Underneath the logo are additional color-coded signs depending on of the stations sells other fuel besides regular unleaded Magna Sin. A Black sign announces the presence of Diesel fuel, while a red sign indicates that Premium unleaded is available. Don't bother looking for the price, which is available only on the pump. Pemex is a government monopoly -- they don't need to entice customers.

The federal government maintains a fleet of thousands of bright green service trucks with mechanics aboard to assist motorists who encounter mechanical difficulty on the road. The trucks have a full width light bar with red lights atop the cab. Each truck is assigned a route which is supposed to be covered twice a day. In tourist areas and along tourist corridors one or both of the mechanics frequently speak English. 

Their services are free of charge but motorists are expected to pay for oil, gasoline, and parts. Their services are limited to minor repairs, changing of flat tires, or jury-rigging a repair in order to render a vehicle capable of making it to a shop under it's own power. Because mechanical repair is their forte, Green Angels are a gold mine of information about surrounding repair facilities and the abilities (or limitations) of their mechanics. 

Each truck has a communications radio that can summon a tow truck or alert the local hospital of an emergency. Green Angels will stop for vehicles that are parked on the shoulder with their hood raised. Green Angels crews are well aware of (and thankful for) the generous gratitude shown by grateful RV drivers over the years. A tip to a Green Angel isn't a bribe. After they soil their clothes and strain their back muscles changing a heavy flat tire If you want to extra nice supply them with ice-cold soft drinks and sandwiches while they work. 

Dash any thoughts of avoiding México because the preceding driving descriptions bother you. Driving in rush hour traffic on any US highway is more stressful than on the average road in México. The seven-hundred mile distance for instance between Nogáles and Mazatlán is just about like driving from Red Bluff, California to San Diego (avoiding Los Angeles). Wide open toll roads lead from a half-dozen ports of entry deep into México's interior. They aren't cheap to use, but you can make up for it by nesting at a free campsite beneath swaying coconut palms next to the ocean. Remember that if you stay home, I'll take your spot!