Driving in Oaxaca, Mexico
RULES OF THE ROAD IN OAXACA
Give an example of an oxymoron. You guessed it. But just when you think you feel comfortable driving in this city, with seemingly no strict or enforced regulations, there you are, a transit (a traffic cop) waving at you, giving you a ticket, taking your license plate or towing your vehicle. Observing and learning what other drivers are doing provides no comfort or guarantee that you won’t end up paying a ticket, perhaps because your car is missing or other motorists honking their horns at you. All I can do is offer some understanding and explanation, and the rest is up to you.
Let’s start with the premise that this particular local government employee is not paid very well and therefore has limited “resources”, in the multiple sense of the word. I have been told that he earns about 6,000 pesos a month, and also that he earns about 2,000 pesos a month and therefore depends on earning his salary “on the street.” Keep this in mind or look up your own stats. What is certain is that he probably earns less than the average Oaxacan (about 65,000 pesos a year according to the most recent statistics)… not like the law enforcement officers we know who retire at fifty with good pensions and then start a second run. in the field of security.
I am convinced that nobody knows the traffic laws and that everything that is enforced is done at random or on a whim. The point is that even when you think you are doing the right thing or know the law, you can still be pulled over, fined, or suffer the wrath of angry motorists. What follows is a little help for would-be Oaxacan drivers, which is acceptable driving practices, not necessarily the law…or what will keep you out of trouble. But in the last fifteen years I’ve only been pulled over three times…once for making a U-turn at a major intersection, once for driving without license plates, and recently for simply not knowing what to do in the middle of a strange-looking intersection with even more strange traffic signs (to date, not a single fine).
Note that frequent lanes are not clearly marked or marked at all, and the lights don’t always work, at least for one direction of traffic. When you see two or more traffic heading through an intersection, don’t assume they are working in unison. I recently saw an officer clipping his nails while he was apparently directing traffic.
WHO HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY?
Many intersections do not have yield or stop signs or lights. Most major up and down streets have the right of way, as do most major cross streets, but it’s a matter of learning over time which street is which, what constitutes a major or major street, and even once you’ve done it, being cautious when entering every intersection because you don’t know if the other guy knows. At traffic lights, green has the right of way, but not immediately. You will probably be charged with driving in a jurisdiction where there is a one or two second delay between the other driver getting a red light and you getting a green light. Not so in Oaxaca. Before proceeding, back off carefully to see how many drivers will be speeding through the red zone. They say that semaphores (traffic lights) are only suggestive, so sometimes there will be drivers who stop and then go on red. Although illegal, this is not an uncommon or unaccepted practice…it just happens, and I’ll bet those who run a red light in this context have fewer accidents than drivers who proceed immediately after seeing a green light, or who pass through unmarked intersections.
TURNING
You are not supposed to turn right on red after stopping if it is safe to do so, unless there is a sign with an arrow. Break this one and you’ll get honked for more than going through a red one! Sometimes the right lanes are reserved for right turns only, so be on the lookout or understand why the guy behind you honks when you obey the red light…there’s probably a green arrow somewhere that tells you to turn right. The car to your left might also want to turn right. With regard to left turns, the same is true. But more often than not there will be two or three lanes of traffic wanting to turn left, including you… but before you turn left, make sure the driver on your left is also planning to turn left and not go straight . The buses seem to be allowed to turn any way they want from whatever lane they’re in, and since they’re bigger than you, be careful, if you can see them through your exhaust. Unless you plan to turn, the safest place to be to avoid angry motorists is the center lanes. On occasion, you may even come across a far right lane reserved for left turns! But wait. As of May 2006, road “improvements” on the city’s main east-west thoroughfare, Niños Héroes de Chapúltepec, began to be completed. Instead of the usual left turn lanes, we now have, a block before an intersection, traffic lights directing you to turn to the far left of the roadway, crossing lanes of oncoming traffic.
Then when you get to the intersection where you want to turn left, there are additional traffic lights. It is difficult to explain the concept, the chaos and the danger for both drivers and pedestrians. Think of it like you’re driving down a North American highway and all of a sudden you have to become a British driver, but only for one block and one bend. The government has placed officers at these new intersections to familiarize drivers with these new lanes, which is admirable… but when these crazy instructors leave, after the powers that be decide Oaxacans are now familiar with the grid pattern, what happens? to non-Oaxacan drivers, such as tourists. And finally, in the context of these new turn lanes, authorities sometimes put up the wrong sign, so one can find themselves, following what the sign says, going the wrong way down a street with oncoming traffic. Will Hertz then double his insurance premiums?
PARKING LOT
You will learn to double park, even if you hate those who do it and create traffic jams. Sometimes tranisto blows his whistle, sometimes he starts giving you a ticket, or taking your plate, and sometimes he doesn’t do anything. Pick your spots, keep a passenger in your car who knows where to find you, and be quick. The vehicle you are blocking will be patient, as the driver probably double-parked an hour earlier. When parking near a corner, the key is to park on a street where cars can only turn the other way so there is no chance of getting caught. You’re not supposed to do it, but most of the time it gets overlooked. However, if you are near the corner of a street where bus traffic turns, be careful because the bus will not be able to turn and Transito will do everything possible to remove your vehicle. Don’t worry too much about barely turning it into a parking spot, because Oaxacans seem to have a knack for getting out of small spaces. Keep an eye out for driveways as they are sometimes quite difficult to see. In parking lots, take note of the earliest closing times.
SPEEDING
I don’t know the speed limits of the city, nor do the vast majority of Oaxacans. Speed bumps will dictate your speed, as will the driver behind you. As for the former, sometimes they are marked and sometimes they are not. Note the number of tire and spring repair shops, and the alignment and balance signs. Attack the ends slowly and, if possible, at an angle. Highways often have posted speed limits, but calculate your speed as you would in the city. Although the toll road warns of radar in operation, the only place I have seen it is on the highway from Acapulco to Mexico City. However, you can be stopped without radar, the fine is very high, you better have cash on hand and remember that there is no presumption of innocence.
AND REMEMBER
In Oaxaca to get a driver’s license there is no driving test or vision test. Either you take a written test or you pay someone some money as a bribe, a very common practice.