More Mexico Driving....

I have over 20 hour of Mexico driving under my belt and have learned a few more things, and the car is now insured thank goodness.  First, when the curb is painted yellow in Canada (and I believe the USA) it means you can't park there.  In Mexico yellow means you CAN park there, and red means no parking.  Of course if you need to park for a few minutes in a red zone, just put on your four way flashers and you should get away with it.  Unless it happens to be in front of a bus stop, police station or hospital ambulance zone.

Also, I've done more freeway/highway driving, and found that the left lane here is the same as up north.  It is the fast or passing lane, but be extremely careful.  For some reason this lane seems to slow to a crawl or stop suddenly for no apparent reason.  I will have to get more experience and perhaps I'll find out the reason for this anomily.

Another thing to be aware of is that there are certain places that can be more dangerous, and I don't mean just for driving.  Certain neighborhoods have more robberies in them than others, and it is not just home invasions.  One particular thing some criminals do here is stand around near red lights on the street .  Oh, and be careful also, many traffic light bulbs are burned out and not replaced for weeks.

Anyway, what these criminals do is walk up to their victim's window and rob them while they are waiting for the green light.  Because it is so hot here during the day, many drivers have their windows open and this makes an easy target.  It is a good idea to leave at least 20 feet in front of you at a red light so you can speed away from these robbers.  Also be sure to keep all of your doors locked in these areas, and probably all areas at night.

If you are driving a new car with air conditioning and your windows are up, these crooks will use a ball bearing and a string to smash your window in - then rob you.  God it's not just dangerous driving in Mexico, it is dangerous just being on the road.  And remember the two basic rules - don't hit anyone and don't get hit by anyone.