Everything is starting to roll and it has become impossible not to think about our upcoming Mexican adventures! 102 days, from today, we will be driving south! The school has put us in contact with people who have driven down to Puerto Vallarta and we are receiving valuable information about getting a permit for our car, where to stay, where the nearest Suzuki dealership is located, etc. Sammy and I have some serious homework to do regarding the rules of the road, Spanish road signs, and do we or don't we bribe a cop if pulled over. The first thing that comes to mind is that I should have paid more attention when riding in the car with my friend Nicole G while living in Ecuador....but I think most of the time my eyes were shut and I was white knuckling it! Nicole would take us home up the single-lane, cobblestone streets of Guapalo. However, in all reality, for as crazy as she drove she has never been faulted for an accident (or at least that what she would say to reassure us to stay in the car with her). All joking aside, I loved getting rides home with Nicole.
I found some driving advice on Jerry and Karen's Move to Mexico Blog, which they discovered in The Vallarta Tribune, a local English language newspaper published on a weekly basis.
Here is the advice offered:
I found some driving advice on Jerry and Karen's Move to Mexico Blog, which they discovered in The Vallarta Tribune, a local English language newspaper published on a weekly basis.
Here is the advice offered:
- Turn signals will give away your next move. A real Mexican driver never uses them.
- Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by someone else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
- Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane change is considered going with the flow.
- The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
- Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will inevitably result in your being rear-ended.
- A right lane closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line while passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.
- Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions.
- Remember that goal of every Mexican driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.
- It is traditional to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light changes.
- Just because you're in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that the driver behind you won't flash his high beams, thinking you can go faster.
Mexbound.com
