I have been back for just shy of four weeks now and usually when I travel, I have some type of “culture shock” or revelations. In this case they are revelations. These are mostly comparisons between Mexico and the United States. They are also similar to what I have experienced in the past coming back to the US.
Police Corruption – it’s present, but not the norm
While we got stopped several times by the myriad of different types of police in Mexico, I was actually only harassed one time. Yes it was stressful, but I got out unscathed. I was warned about the police in this town and their ties to the cartels, so it’s not surprising.
What is important to note, is that on our last day in Mexico, traveling from Saltillo to Eagle Pass, TX, we pulled out of our hotel, but there were large orange cones in the driveway. These can mean anything in Mexico, so I simply had them moved and we drove onto the boulevard in front of the hotel. Except that it was crowded with pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists. Evidently, they close many roads every Sunday to traffic and let the people “own” the streets and use them for exercise and just getting out without having to worry about the traffic. A novel idea.
It was closed however, and as I was turning right to get off the boulevard at the first intersection, I got waived down by a young police officer. I knew this could be problematic, so I preemptively opened my window and before he had a chance to say anything, I greeted him and asked him how to get off this boulevard and explained the situation. He asked for my license, told me what I already knew and then told me to pull over to the street I was already turning onto. After about 5-10 minutes, he said he needed to give me a ticket, but it was obvious he didn’t really want to, so I asked to talk with his supervisor. About 10 minutes later his supervisor pulled up in a pickup truck and I got out and talked with him for another 10 minutes. Again taking the initiative to state the obvious, then I asked him if he could escort us out of the city as we couldn’t wait for the road to open as we had an appointment with Banjercito at the border for paperwork. He too stated he should give us a ticket, but then I asked again for an escort and he obliged. Escorting us about five miles to where there would be no more road closures, he turned around and waived us on.
In our travel stories, we don’t talk about the good interactions with police too much, but every other interaction I had with them, whether it be on the street walking and asking for directions, asking for questions about their town, or being stopped for standard inspections – was a positive experience. They are there just doing their jobs.
I got harassed only once out of the twenty or so interactions I had with the police in Mexico. The one time I got harassed, it was in a known cartel collusion area, I was warned, and I was driving a foreign vehicle. In the end, they let me go my way without any issues other than 60-90 minute delay in my day, and it really didn’t impact me other than the time I was stopped.
So, while we are warned and talk about police corruption in Mexico, and it most definitely is present, they are in the minority and most police officers are just doing their job and are happy to talk to/with you. They are people too.
Mexican vs US Drivers
In Mexico, driving has you on your toes. I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous, and from my anecdotal experiences driving over 25,000 miles in Mexico over the years, I would venture to say that Mexican drivers are actually better drivers than those in the US. Here is why I have come to that conclusion:
In Mexico, you will encounter topes or speed bumps on every type of road from cul-de-sacs, to country lanes, to boulevards, to major national autopsists or toll roads. They can be anything from white lines painted on the road way causing vibrations to jolting six inch tall asphalt tire/suspension-destroying humps that are unmarked.
On the contrast, there are also potholes on every roadway in varying states of decay, depth, and diabolical properties that will give you spinal compression fractures as you are launched out of the pothole and back onto the roadway for a final suspension-misalignment treatment.
There are also the narrow (think country lane) two-lane highways that have no shoulder, but instead have a 5-500′ drop off on one side and immoveable trees encroaching on the highway so you can’t use the entire lane. As you encounter these narrow lanes, you must add the pot holes and topes. So you see oncoming traffic swerving all over the road in front of you playing chicken at 100-120 kph (60-70 MPH).
The speed limits are subjective. The reality is that the road conditions dictate the speed limit plus some. If you go any faster, you will destroy your car.
We also have animals to contend with… dogs, chickens, donkeys, horses, cows, etc. My favorite [sic] are the pigs in the trucks being taken to slaughter. The pack so many pig in the trucks with open siding (just barriers to keep them in) that you can smell the pig trucks for miles before you reach them to over take them. As you are over taking them my suggestion is to do so as the fastest speed possible (well beyond the safe speed for road conditions). The reason for this is that if you take your time in passing these trucks, of the 200-300 pigs on board, of the 10% or so that have their asses pointed to you, one of them will inevitably defecate or urinate all over your vehicle.
Back to the other animal hazards, they are usually not in pastures or tied up. So they roam the roads freely. After all, it’s easier to walk on a road than through rocks and brush. When they are tied up, they are tied up so close to the road, that they will often be laying down on the road and sleeping – until you get close then they will suddenly jump up and run to the end of their tether – in the middle of the road.
Now let’s get to city drivers… traffic lights – pshhh – who needs them. Painted lane lines on the street… pshhh, let’s make our own lanes… blind curves, narrow streets, topes, potholes, livestock… you get the picture.
Now here’s here it gets interesting. Mexicans learned how to drive in these conditions. They are ever-alter and rarely distracted with cell phones, eating in their cars, putting makeup on, shaving, reading, autonomous driving cars, etc. They are reactionary drivers and they are good at it. They take it in stride. For the most part, it’s all part of the commute and just another day.
Because Mexicans are reactionary, offensive, and then finally defensive drivers, they are good drivers. They know how to avoid accidents. In all of the miles we drove this past summer, we saw… TWO accident. The first was where a double gasoline trailer driver fell asleep and ran off the road into a muddy field. There were two tow trucks there trying to extricate it out of the field. The second one was bad, it was a single vehicle accident where the long haul truck driver… fell asleep and the truck went off of one of those aforementioned embankments, overturned and was completely destroyed. The local townspeople were there collecting free cans of Coke and doing the highway department a great service by cleaning up the mess.
In contrast, I have been back in the states for just under four weeks and I have seen countless accidents on the freeways and have only driven about 800 miles. The other thing I have seen is road-rage. People are angry… They want to take it out on anyone. A delivery van and Dodge Charger racing down the freeway weaving in between traffic, driving on the shoulder all because the Charger “cut the delivery driver off”
Because of all the strict traffic laws and the threat of citations, people in the US mostly obey the laws. Because of this, they have time to be distracted. They are on their phones, eating fast food, shaving, having their Teslas drive them, etc. They have forgotten how to drive. So when there’s something out of the norm, they don’t know how to react. The results are no reaction and an accident, or over reaction and an accident.
Because of this, I have come to my subjective conclusion that Mexican (and for similar reasons, most other countries in the world) are better drivers than those from the United States. We pretty much suck at driving. Even good drivers in the US are bad drivers in Mexico. We just don’t have the skillset to be reactive drivers and pay attention – it’s more important for us to answer that text, eat those fries, and put makeup on instead of driving.
Pizote Adventures 