6 Tips For Driving In Mexico

There are plenty of places around the world known for their crazy driving. Mexico is definitely one of those places. The organized chaos seems to be comical at times. I don’t know how they do it, but everyone seems to adapt! Even so, I have found myself in hairy situations on these roads at times. Let me show you 6 tips for driving in Mexico.

Do you have tips or other experiences while driving through Mexico? Hit me up and tell me about them!

***Are you planning on crossing borders with your vehicle? Check out my post here to get the good scoop about what you need to prepare.***

No lanes

Yes, it is quite common to see very wide roads with no lanes, even in highly populated cities! The best thing you can do is stay behind someone and just keep on driving. This way, you can at least begin to form a lane with the person you have teamed up with. People always find a way to create lanes for themselves. The quicker you do this, the better. If there is traffic, it actually makes it easier to get this done, and everyone seems to figure it out pretty quick. It’s not like the lanes or types of lines matter in this place, anyways!

Double line passing

Even where there are lanes and well marked roads in certain areas, it really won’t matter! One thing I have seen the most of while traveling through this country? The breakdown lane is much wider than it is back in the States. The drivers in Mexico take full advantage of every inch the road offers around here. If you see a highway with one lane per direction, I’ll give you a hint. Stay to the right! Just because there is one lane, doesn’t mean there won’t be someone coming up from behind fully expecting the left half of the lane to be open.

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This isn’t just for cars, folks. Trucks overtaking others is nothing abnormal around here! Can you imagine what would make this even crazier? I’ll give you a mental picture: A slow car in the breakdown lane, a truck passing that car, while ANOTHER car is passing the truck! I wish I was making this up. This takes up the entire highway, both directions of traffic. The only time it will stop is if someone is flashing their lights on the other side, warning them that imminent death is very close.     

This is something you will actually become accustomed to. Eventually, you will have to use it yourself. Don’t worry about the cops doing anything about this. As I said before, it seems to be organized chaos! Although people cut it real close at times, everyone seems to work together to make things as efficient as possible.

Speed limits

Mexico, like most of the world, uses kilometers per hour to judge their speed. Now, for reasons I will get to later in this post, you want to do your best to follow these speed limits while you are within city limits. Highways, though? Different story. Even with my change in driving habits, here is what I have discovered. If a road says 70 km/h, I tend to do 70 miles per hour (about 110 km/h). This is not because of me, but because this is the average speed of drivers on the highways. If you see a cop up ahead, just let off the gas in case he is checking speed. As long as you are driving slightly slower than the people around you, you should be fine. Now, why do you want to obey speed limits when in city limits, and not so much on the highways?

Speed Bumps!

All over this beautiful country, speed bumps litter the roads more than trash. Seriously. I have never been in a country that has more speed bumps. Most of them are VERY big, too! I will say, it makes sense why they are in effect. If they did not exist, people would continue their reckless behavior, and it would not be a safe place to live within residential areas. The ones that are supposed to be there are pretty clearly marked, even from afar.

There are speed bumps, however, that are created by the locals. These ones are not marked, and you really cannot tell they are there unless you hit them at speed. Then you’ll really know it was there. It took me a few hundred miles to learn there can be a speed bump anywhere along the road. Unmarked speed bumps offer a reason for you to keep your speed down on any roads. People help each other out, though. If you seem to be coming up to a speed bump without realizing it, drivers in the other direction will flash their hazards or wave you down to let you know something is about to mess your day up. Organized chaos.

Lane Splitting

Now, this one is actually something I agree with, and not just because I am on a motorcycle. I think lane splitting keeps everyone more aware, and actually helps alleviate traffic to some extent. Just be careful and keep an eye out for a motorcycle coming really close to your vehicle. This should be common knowledge everywhere, but my experiences in places, especially New England, seem to be otherwise.

You may even see some motorcycles hop the sidewalk for a little bit to get to the front of the line. It happens. One thing I can suggest? Stay off to one side of the lane, so bikes can get through. They are going to try regardless, no questions asked.

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Ropes in road

THIS ONE IS VERY IMPORTANT. If you are in some remote place, and see people with a rope across the road, do your best not to stop. They will pretend to pull the rope up quickly. Do your best to honk and keep your pace. Some are just common people looking to make a buck, others not so much. This is much easier in a car, but if you are on a motorcycle, get low on the bike and just honk your way through. This is possibly the only time I felt unsafe in all of Mexico. Just keep moving. I only saw this in the southern part of the country.

Use of lights

Lights on vehicles are their own language within themselves. Many interpret things differently, but here is the language I have picked up for the most part while driving through Mexico.  Left blinker means “you can pass me”. People who are ahead going at a slower speed, typically only put their blinker on if they see the road up ahead is clear. Don’t take this as certain, but this has been my experience. How do I know? If they see something coming up, they shut it off immediately. Teamwork, people!

If you are on long stretches of road, with nothing much in between, sometimes people will flash their highbeams. This can mean anything from a kind hello, to a warning something is up ahead if their hazards are on as well.

The last one? If people ahead are going much slower, there is construction, or any hazard ahead, drivers will use their hazards as they slow down quickly.

NOTE: It is totally legal for people to use red and blue lights on their cars. Don’t think just because you see blue lights you are getting pulled over!

Lessons learned

Listen, we are all on this earth to learn as much as possible, and from any experiences we are supposed to cross paths with! I am glad I was able to experience all of this, and ultimately learn the ins and outs of driving through Mexico. It is important to know what to expect when going somewhere, even when it comes to driving habits. My number one piece of advice? Just keep your eyes open, and don’t overthink it. This lawless chaos seems to work once you get a hang of it. I promise!

'Til next time,

Pete - A Traveling Teacher

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