By David Eidell (08/2008)
GENERAL INTEREST ISSUES
For folks who haven't driven to Mexico in a while, there are some improvements in the car bonding process. First of all, Mexico created a 10-year bond as an option for those visitors who will bring a motorhome. This means that the vehicle can enter and exit Mexico at will for the duration of the bond. Perhaps just as significant the 10-year bond allows the registered owner to obtain an additional "Temporary Importation Permit" for a vehicle in tow behind the motorhome. The second vehicle is subject to the same regulations (must be registered in the name of the person getting the 10-year motorhome permit, must have a letter of authorization to enter Mexico if the vehicle is financed, etc etc.) Note that the motorhome can stay in Mexico for up to 10-years but the towed vehicle must exit Mexico like a car bonded the regular way (180 day maximum). I have noticed a lot of internet chat room traffic, talking about what to do, if a rig returns to the USA within the 10-year span without cancelling the permit and then the rig is sold (or wrecked). The 10-year permit fee is modest enough to encourage folks to just cancel the permit when exiting Mexico… unless they have iron-clad plans to return to Mexico with that vehicle before the permit expires. The car bonding computer system is annoyingly efficient---the day after a permit expires, a series of automated steps occur in the computer system. Number one, the bondee's driver license, and passport number are red flagged. So is the license and VIN number of the rig. A flag means the bondholder and the vehicle can not be bonded to enter Mexico, ever (gasp) again. The person may be able to secure a "Tourist Card" but not be allowed to bring in another motor vehicle. You don't want to find yourself in the middle of a mess like this so please don't obtain a 10-year permit without some forethought about the necessity of cancelling it before it expires. For those of you that do not know the process, car permits can only be cancelled inside the Mexican Republic and only at border stations that specifically perform the car bond process. These days, the permit costs less than twelve gallons of regular gas so turning it in shouldn't break anyone's piggybank.
On Mex 15 (Nogales – Guadalajara – Mexico City) the car bonding area and customs checkpoint has been moved from the traditional 21 km checkpoint hundreds of miles to the south. It is located about fifty-miles north of the state border (Sonora & Sinaloa). This means that you don't have to decide immediately whether or not you wish to continue south of Sonora as far as your car permit is concerned.
Mexico's superhighway construction continues unabated. Mex 15 is now pure expressway from Nogales to Mexico City. Folks headed to Puerto Vallarta will barely have a hundred miles left of driving on regular 2-lane highway. It is possible in theory anyway, to drive (summertime daylight hours) from Puerto Vallarta to Nogales in two-days. This is assuming that everyone aboard has a cast-iron bladder, and lots of trail-mix to munch on instead of stopping for tacos.
TWO LANE TOLL ROADS?
South of Mazatlan, you'll encounter a brand new two-lane toll road (there are a few of these sprinkled throughout the Republic). But like a lot of other things in Mexico, things are a bit different than they are north of the border:
Two lane toll roads are much wider than standard 2-lane highways in Mexico. Most of them have a paved shoulder that is used by slower traffic to allow faster cars (and buses) to pass.
When overtaken by another vehicle you should move over onto the shoulder as far as is safe to do so to allow the other vehicle to pass. With a wide rig the shoulder may not be wide enough to fit all the way onto but don't worry about it---the person passing isn't expected to have a fully clear lane ahead of him.
When you observe oncoming traffic trying to pass, you must move over onto the shoulder just like when someone is trying to pass you. Don't flash your headlights as a courtesy as this signal means that "You Yourself Have The Right-Of-Way"
Keep a very sharp eye out when running on the paved shoulder for hazards like approaching bridge abutments, debris, stalled cars, pedestrians (theoretically prohibited), highway workers and anything else that you will need to avoid. Be very careful when cresting hills if you have given way to some knothead that decided to pass you in a no passing zone (see below).
Just like on any other highway in Mexico, highway striping is supposed to control passing. A solid line means "No Passing" while a "Dotted Line" allows it. But this is in theory. I wouldn't try and be a traffic director and block passing just because the painted line is solid. This can cause tempers to flare and result in a truly foolhardy maneuver by the other driver.
My personal experience has found that travel time on 2-lane toll roads to be almost indistinguishable from travel on four lane toll roads. Once I got used to the passing "etiquette" of 2-lane superhighways I have accepted them as a valid improvement over travel on potholed and speed-bumped free roads that are clogged with slow trucks and jalopies.
DRIVING THROUGH CITIES
Most Mexican cities like cities in the United States have designated routes for trucks and other large vehicles. IMPORTANT NOTE: Vehicles towing trailers and vehicles with dual rear wheels are considered "Heavy Traffic" by city cops. I have a full cab over camper on a nine-foot bed and utility box, but even though the truck is a one-ton model it has single rear wheels and therefore is classified "light traffic". Ignoring a truck route can cost a visitor a thin stack of peso notes in the form of a fine.
When approaching a city keep an eye out for a sign that says "TRANSITO PESADO", or "CAMIONES" with an arrow. If all of the trucks are turning ahead of you that would be an important clue that they are taking the city bypass.
Some city bypass routes are OK while others have truly bad pavement.
PARALELOS
This subject is just a bit confusing so I am going to try (several ways) to help make it clearer.
Many Mexican cities and larger town do not permit left turns from the main boulevard. Sometimes signs are erected to announce "No Left Turn (usually the signs are international with a red circle and diagonal slash), and sometimes not").
A vital clue if there are no signs is to note if there are "frontage lanes" running parallel to the main boulevard.
Vehicles can make a left turn across the main boulevard only from a frontage lane.
This means that a vehicle must exit (right) from the main boulevard onto the frontage road and then proceed to whatever cross street they wish to turn left on.
On the frontage road, wait until you have a green light, turn left and cross the main boulevard. If you are making a U-turn it is safer to wait and complete the U onto the opposite frontage road.
Try to amplify this rule and not make a "direct" right turn if you are on the no-left-turn main boulevard. Instead, exit onto the frontage road one block early. This step is purely optional and not law. Sometimes it is just easier to make a right turn. This should be a judgment call by the driver. One of the criteria I use to make the call is the relative speed and rush of traffic on the main boulevard: If it is fast and furious, I'll use the frontage road for a right; if traffic is mellow I'll wait until the actual intersection to turn right.
HEAVY TRAFFIC ON FRONTAGE ROADS ONLY
For starters RV'ers (meaning heavy traffic) traveling on the four lane highway immediately north of Puerto Vallarta are required by law to travel only on the "paralelos" or frontage road. Even if the road is completely empty the law applies. The reason for this is that Mexican law specifies vehicles with trailers and with dual rear wheels to be heavy-traffic. If the cops allowed RV'ers to ignore the law then Mexican truck drivers would scream their head off. Of course some unscrupulous "transitos (traffic cops)" find this law to be a handy tool to line their pocket. But the law is the law regardless. Few things in Mexico are more righteous than a Mexican cop "in the right" arguing with a tourist about the-way-things-ought-to-be. Watch the frontage streets as you approach a city or town and if all of the trucks are on the paralelos (which means none of the trucks are seen on the main boulevard) then it is a pretty good sign that heavy traffic belongs on the frontage road. For the most part though most cities rely on their no-frontage-roads bypasses and not frontage roads on their main boulevard to control heavy traffic).
DRIVERS APPROACHING FROM THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
Mexican drivers usually approach a highway and then slam on the brakes at the last moment and end up right at the edge of the travel lane. North of the border, this would be a clear danger sign to approaching traffic that the driver is in a crazy rush and to expect him to perhaps dart out in front of you. In Mexico such a stunt is the norm and I sympathize with fellow RV'ers who grind their teeth in frustration. About the only thing I can do is to mention it here in the hope that somehow it would help you to know that all drivers including Mexicans find the maneuver to be unsettling. Maybe flashing your lights would help to blow off some steam---this signifies that you are telling the "offender" that you have the right of way.
POLICE AND MILITARY CHECKPOINTS
Forgive me for seemingly harping on the subject but every year a number of thoughtless visitors get caught with firearms (usually hand guns) or ammunition. This is both incredibly stupid and a sharp incentive to Mexican law enforcement to maintain vigilance when inspecting foreign visitors motor vehicles. Let me be clear about it: Possession of a firearm is a felony. Violators go to a prison (not jail) and they will be confined for a long time. Everything they own, motor vehicle and its contents will be confiscated. Even if official fines are paid in full (thousands, and most of the time tens of thousands of dollars) the accused will remain in prison for months. Even in the event of a million-to-one occurrence where a firearm is used for legitimate self protection, the accused will go to jail for possession of the firearm and yet face another charge for shooting someone or God forbid for killing them. You have a better chance at repelling green men in a flying saucer than using a firearm to "protect yourself" in Mexico.
Marijuana possession may be a quasi-legal issue in Canada or the United States but it is an-always crystal clear felony in Mexico. I have seen more and more dope-sniffing dogs being used in Mexico and if appearances are a clue; their handlers are professionally trained---perhaps on a par equal to dogs used by US Customs at the border. No longer can users breathe a sign of relief once they enter Mexico. In the past very cursory roadside inspections have given way to a very real possibility that a properly trained dog will spend a couple of minutes sniffing a rig. Suddenly the chances a military inspection team finding a well-hidden "stash" goes from "extremely unlikely" to a horrifying "almost certainly".
I do not "indulge" nor do most readers, but I am hoping that this message somehow makes it way into gossip threads that would prevent some otherwise harmless pot-head from getting nailed just because they are unaware. The penalty is draconian (see firearms above). With the advent of dozens of dogs being used these days only a really stupid traveler would ignore these warnings. For the uninitiated let me offer just one clue: They can hide their pot as well as they can but just the faint trace odor of marijuana residue in a visually clean ash tray (or on-their-fingers!) will serve to alert a dope dog twenty feet distant from a rig. Pass the word: Things have really tightened up. And forget about bribes, even those involving thousands of dollars in cash, a person would have just as much chance trying to bribe a US Customs agent---there are dozens of people at each check point and the bribe has gone the way of the Dodo. If a dope dog sounds off personnel will know that it is for a good reason. Just imagining what would follow gives me the willies. Mexican personnel are very cautious around visitors---they tend to be much more polite than US Customs agents, if that can be seen as a positive point.
[Ed Note: See also David's earlier piece that provides additional tips for driving in Mexico.]