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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.
México is criss-crossed by an extensive network of paved primary highways and secondary arterial roads. The country embarked on a dizzying road building campaign in the early and mid nineteen nineties. The result of that effort was the construction of some ten thousand miles of toll roads. Few maps accurately depict all of the newer highways, but in one instance (with the exception of the immediate area surrounding México City) it is now possible to remain on multi-lane expressways from the Texas border all the way to Acapúlco. On the Pacific coast, multi-lane expressways now whisk the traveler from the international border at Nogáles, to Mazatlán. The average two-lane road in México is clogged with diesel trucks, busses, and passenger cars. Most Méxican roads lack adequate shoulders and many miles of them have steep drop-offs where pavement meets dirt. Depending on the state in which you live you can count on two-lane roads being narrower than what you are used to. Older roads are the narrowest, with the transpeninsular Bája highway being the queen of the slim roadways. Lane widths throughout the country vary from about ten feet to sixteen feet.
Many four-lane highways were converted to tollways
in the early and mid-nineties. The older four lane roads have narrower lanes
than our interstates. Highways built in the eighties and nineties have wider
lanes and at least some degree of shoulder. Even drivers new to México find
driving on the toll roads a piece of cake.
Road surfaces (as compared to equivalent highways in the US). México does not employ the same construction techniques when constructing or maintaining their highways. Surfaces are usually rougher than roads north of the border. The "proper" title for expressway is "autopísta" but Mexicans just call them "Cuotas" (tolls). Most of the newer toll roads are patterned after freeways in the United States. Cuts were made through mountains, huge bridges were built to span arroyos, and grades were moderated by routing the road around severe mountains. Access is quite limited primarily because the toll road operators don't want drivers to use part of the system without paying. Road surfaces have remained in good shape because a great majority of México's motoring public cannot afford the high fees to use them (Luxury buses are an exception). Government owned toll roads are more reasonable than private toll roads. RVs pay the same rate, axle-for-axle as diesel semi-trucks. A three-axle motorhome towing a dinghy, will pay two fees: The first toll, for a two-axle motorhome, will be nearly double that of an automobile. The second will be full-fare for the dinghy. Camper pickups pay the auto rate; pickups with more than two axles (towing) will pay the equivalent diesel truck rate. The difference can be appreciable; a section that costs the driver of an automobile ten dollars can cost the RV'er (towing a dinghy) twenty-five. The regular highway passes through every city and town, winds up and down every small hill, and is choked with derelict trucks and busses. Toll roads on the other hand are virtually empty of traffic
Traffic
Signal Lights
Compared to signals north of the border Méxican traffic lights are quite dim. Some lights have missing reflectors and tubes, too many suffer burned-out bulbs, or a recent windstorm may have twisted the fixture so that the lights shine in the window of a corner grocery. Very few intersections have multiple fixtures that act as a backup in case one bulb fails. A red light will come on suddenly after a too-brief amber signal. Some towns have signals that flash the green light several times before switching to a brief steady amber signal (this is a cue for Méxican drivers to floorboard the gas pedal). Espere para flecha verde means "wait for the green arrow" in urban left turn lanes. They are found everywhere in México. Speed bumps can range from rippled concrete, to veritable asphalt barrows. Really big bumps must be approached by first coming to a complete stop, then easing the RV (and towed vehicle over them one axle at a time). Known as "Topes" (TOW-pays) Méxican speed bumps are placed to slow-down speeding trucks and busses in congested urban and suburban areas. Few solitary topes are encountered, so beware of successive speed bumps. Decades ago, the government learned that if it bulldozed a clearing alongside the highway it wouldn't be long before a tire shop or basic shanty restaurant popped up soon afterward. Shady wide spots do exist and most are safe to take lunch at. Use discretion on really busy highways however. Toll roads always provide convenient areas to park immediately after the tollbooth. Most have reasonably clean restrooms (take toilet paper). This is an excellent and very safe and quiet area to rest and even catch forty winks (very few Mexican trucks). Uniform standards are being applied but the process is slow. Some areas have amber centerline striping with white shoulder stripes while others use white for the centerline and yellow for the shoulders. Lane delineation stripes will sometimes lead the unwary into an oncoming lane or onto someone's front lawn. 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. Mexican stores allot much less space for parking than do similar size US stores. Only an optimist would drive a motorhome or pickup with 5th 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. Try to use Mexico's wonderful public transit system. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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