Driving in Mazatlan, Benefits and Hazards

I’ve been driving in Mazatlán for over 10 years, and I assure you, it is not for the faint of heart. But, with just a smidgen of **patience** you can master it in a short while. DISCLAIMER: These are my opinions and thoughts on the matter and please understand that I love driving in Mazatlán. I’m not being critical ...

of local practices or customs. If anything, I’m more a cause of the problems than those I portray.

DO I NEED A CAR IN MAZATLAN: The first question you should ask, whether you are a visitor, or a resident is, do I need to drive at all. There are plenty of options available to those who prefer not to drive:

• Walk! Most visitors don’t stray far from their hotel. (Which is unfortunate. Resorts seem to want to keep their residents on the property so they can bombard them with time share appeals. Some even use outlandish warnings about personal safety. The city consists of many different neighborhoods and many different historical districts. GET OUT AND EXPLORE!)
• Uber, Didi or inDrive (you make them an offer they can’t refuse.) These apps are convenient and usually reasonable except during peak times, then they can be expensive. I use them all the time and have never had a problem.
• Pulmonias. Golf cart like vehicles that drive around town looking for riders, very convenient but can be expensive especially for foreigners. Try and negotiate the price. I still use them for short trips around the Golden Zone or Centro when I’m too lame or lazy to walk.
• Aurigas. Red pickup trucks with seats adapted in the rear to carry more people or things. Again, you will see them everywhere and they are convenient for moving that big new recliner.
• Taxis. Pretty much like taxis everywhere.
• City buses. Cheapest option! A bit confusing at first but once you figure it out it is a good way to travel.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: You can easily find all of the legal requirements for driving in Mexico on your computer or smart phone.

ORGANIZED CHAOS: In your hometown, you are used to a relatively organized flow of traffic with everyone in their lane, following the rules of the road and obeying traffic signals, road signs and directional arrows. And if you commit a violation of one of these rules in the presence of law enforcement, you will be ticketed. Forget all of that while you are here. Trucks, Buses, cars and motorcycles weave in and out, change lanes, turn left from the right-hand lane, cut each other off, stop randomly in the middle of the road, and drive without headlights or taillights. To the first-time visitor the traffic is chaos. All I can tell you is, that’s the way it is. The locals are used to driving this way and now, so am I. When my kids come visit, they say things like, “Dad, get into your own lane,” or “Dad, you’re driving like a pissed-off teenager,” or “Dad, you just went through a stop sign,” and my favorite, “Dad, do you want me to drive?” Remember what I said about patience. Don’t get in a hurry, don’t honk your horn, don’t fly into a road rage, just go with the flow.

MOTORCYCLES: There are hundreds if not thousands of them and they think they have the uncontested right-of-way and maybe they do, I don’t know. At a traffic light they will pull alongside you on both sides regardless of how close you are to the other vehicles, and they weave in and out of the traffic to get to the front of the line. Some speed off even before the light changes. Others putt along blocking traffic while you silently curse wondering why they didn’t just wait behind you. I still see families of three or four on a motorcycle, especially in the outlying neighborhoods.

BLOCKING TRAFFIC: Drivers here think nothing of putting their flashers on and stopping in the middle of the road; even on the busiest streets while they buy a coke or let their wives out to go to work. Delivery trucks block traffic to unload their bread or beer or whatever. Oh yes, and the Ubers and Pulmonias and Aurigas...they stop anywhere, anytime, to load or unload passengers, as do the city buses, who don’t have designated pickup spots but stop for anyone who waves them down. Be patient.

STREETS: The streets are not the well paved, well-maintained streets you are used to at home. You have to be on the lookout for the potholes. And if you drove a street yesterday and it didn’t have one, it probably will today. In my opinion the biggest danger is the ‘tope’ (pronounced to-pay}. These are speed bumps, ladies and gentlemen, even though calling some of them a speed bump is like calling the Grand Canyon a little dip in the road. They are a real danger, which is ironic, because they were placed there to make you slow down. Folks, be careful, they are everywhere and most of them are invisible. Originally, they were painted yellow, but have long since blended into the rest of the street. Even though I’ve warned you, you’ll be going 25 or 30 in Playa Sur or somewhere in Lomas and sure as sin you’ll hit one, and your kids will say, well, I can’t really repeat what they say, but you can imagine.

CONDITION OF YOUR CAR: You can bring your own car from home, rent a car here (I’ve done it and it’s not that bad), buy a car here, or borrow one. I drive my cousin’s beat-up old car when they are in the USA. I prefer that to a shiny new car because there is nothing you can do, if you drive regularly in Mazatlán, to keep from getting dinged up. Now, my cousin’s car is badly dinged, pitted, discolored and downright dented. He blames me for all of it, which is a blatant misrepresentation. I’m responsible for maybe 10% of the damage. I could go out and take inventory, but it’s too hot. Wait, I just re-read that last sentence. It should read, ‘I’m responsible for maybe 90%...’ but let me tell you, they were not my fault. It is unavoidable that you are going to have a little fender-bender, or you will scrape the fender against a post or column in the parking lot, or someone will smash into you at the round-about in front of Valentinos’ and blame you, when it is clearly their fault...well, 80-90% their fault.

POLICEMEN: You’ve accepted the risks and the rewards and are driving up Avenida del Mar toward Centro and a police vehicle pulls in behind you, lights flashing. What do you do? Nothing! The local law-enforcement vehicles drive with their lights flashing all the time. Don’t panic. They will let you know if they want you to stop, but 98.9% of the time, they are just cruising the streets. By the way, I made that last statistic up. If you are stopped for something, do not suggest, or offer a bribe. That would be a bad thing to do, regardless of popular cultural beliefs. I’ve been stopped twice, a few years ago, both times for not having a rear license plate. Both times I promised to get one and they just sent me on my way. It took a couple of months to finally get the new plates, but I wasn’t bothered again.

DRIVING AT NIGHT: It is especially difficult to see motorcycles at night because the streets, outside of the major tourist areas, are not well lit. And don’t forget about the topes, they are impossible to see at night. The small businesspeople who have their stalls attached to motorcycles or even bicycles share the road with you, and they are maddingly slow. They have a right to be there like everyone else, but they do tend to back up the traffic. OPINION: The huge tour buses that have taken over the city lately are a real nuisance. They stop in the road blocking traffic to unload their passengers and luggage; they block the streets both ways when turning around or backing into their destination; they travel onto the smallest streets to find places to park. Around the Golden Zone and Aquarium, they are everywhere. Yet, I understand the desire to attract tourists.

PARKING: can be a problem, especially in Centro and the Golden Zone. However, there are parking lots available. Sometimes it takes a while to find them, but they are available. I often park in one of the banks, pharmacies, or fast-food places, if I’m just running an errand. If you plan on having dinner or meeting friends for drinks, you should probably park in one of the parking lots or use the non-driving options above.

NAVIGATING THE STREETS: When I first started driving in Mazatlán, I was lost more than I was found. The new Navigation systems on your smartphone will get you pretty much anywhere you want to go. You might find, that once you get to the general location, finding the actual address is a bit tricky, but that’s an entirely different problem. Mazatlán is growing so fast that a lot of the new areas haven’t been mapped and the older neighborhoods don’t always display the address or have street signs.

Safe driving everyone!