Driving in Mexico: the lowdown

We planned to spend 10 days driving around Yucatan and Quintana Roo in Mexico. So we figured it would be more convenient to drive than take public transport. And it was… But hiring and driving a car in Mexico is quite different to how it is in Europe.

We found that researching the different insurance policies, road rules, and other anomalies made it much less stressful that it would have been. So, to help you understand the experience of driving around the Yucatan Peninsula (and how it differs to the UK), this is what we learned.

Driving in Mexico

Topes

Though most of the roads in Yucatan are wide and well built, there are lots of very sharp speed bumps, known as topes. These mostly occur as your pass through towns and villages or busy areas. We had read about topes before driving in Mexico but weren’t prepared for just how brutal they are!

The aim is to keep the speed of traffic down. But while some are well signposted, others aren’t. So you’ll notice car repair shops, burst tires, and other remnants of vehicles on the stretch of road following each tope. They serve as a reminder of those who have failed to slow down – and why you really, really need to.

Some topes are a simple concrete hump in the road. Some are large ropes. And others are circular metal bollards. Whatever they’re made of, they’re usually high and steep so, if you don’t slow down, the front of your car will likely smash into the road as you drive over it. Some are also quite sharp and can cause tires to burst. Which is especially problematic when you're driving a rental car.

Road rules in Mexico

Before you drive anywhere new, you should obviously read the rules of the road. These are most useful things we learned about driving in Mexico:

If a car is driving half in the hard shoulder, they are letting you know they’re happy to be overtaken.
Similarly, if a car is driving with its turn signal on it means you can overtake them.
For this reason, cars do not indicate to say they are overtaking, like we do in the UK. As this would tell drivers behind that they could overtake. So you indicate just to let people know you're taking it slow, or when you're actually turning off the road.
Speaking of overtaking, it happens a lot. Overtaking cars drive fully in the oncoming lane, often with huge trucks approaching. I thought we were about to witness a fatal collision at least 100 times. But the roads are wide and often quiet so when you do need to overtake, it's not hard.
When slowing down on the approach to a tope or other obstruction in the road, use your hazard lights. This lets drivers behind you know you’ll be reducing your speed significantly. It also lets them know there's a tope or something else coming up.
Rather than road tax, there are a number of toll stations on Yucatan. These need to be paid for in cash.
The road layout and signs can be complicated in places. So use Google Maps or another satnav.
When you're driving in more remote areas of Mexico, gas stations are few and far between. So if you get the chance to stop for petrol – take it.

Finding gas in Mexico

When we arrived in Yucatan, we drove five hours from Cancun down to rural Xcalak. And, once we were past Tulum, there weren't many gas stations. We knew the last station we could stop at before our destination was either in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, or Mahahual. And with the Easter weekend about to start, we risked both being closed.

It was a stressful drive not knowing if we had enough in the tank. But we were lucky that the Mahahual Pemex station was open when we arrived close to empty. So we filled up. And then filled up again on the way back to Tulum. However, at least in this direction we knew we were driving towards petrol stations rather than away from them.

We had heard rumours of gas station attendants overcharging or starting the metre above $0. But we didn’t experience this at all in the Yucatan Peninsula.

We had also heard that, if we did run out of gas, we might have to pay above the odds to buy some from a resident in one of the remote villages. Luckily, this didn’t happen either! But what it did teach us was that, rather than waiting until your tank is almost empty, you should fill it up whenever you have the chance. Because you never know when your next one might be.

Driver checkpoints in Mexico

There are a lot of police and military checkpoints on the roads in Mexico. We came across quite a few in Yucatan and Quintana Roo. And though every one of them had pulled over at least one car to be checked, we were lucky to be waved through each time.

Some people think they're more likely to stop tourists. Other people think they're less likely to bother you if they can see you're not local, as you're unlikely to be cartel. I'm not sure either of these theories are true. It just depends on who's manning the checkpoint when you get there.

Contact with military and police on the roads in Mexico

Coming from England, I’d never seen so many machine guns in my life as I saw driving around the Yucatan Peninsula! It can be quite intimidating at first… especially when you see masked military walking down deserted streets armed with semi-automatics.

But we were driving safely, keeping to the speed limit, and fully insured so had nothing to worry about. Of course this doesn’t save you from being pulled over and grilled in Spanish, but it helped put our minds at ease.

Driving fines in Mexico

As well as checkpoints, police are known to pull over and fine drivers – especially foreigners – on false charges like speeding or faulty lights. Again, this didn’t happen to us. And the best way to avoid it is to always stick to the speed limit, avoid driving at night, and make sure your car is in perfect condition.

Some towns are especially well known for these police tactics. Drivers will be given a fine, or the option to pay the officer upfront and be let go without an issue. However, the fine is often around $15 while the upfront bribe is more like $50. So, while it might seem worth paying to get out of the situation, it’s actually far more cost effective to take the fine.

We also learned the phrase ‘dame mi multa, por favor’. This means ‘give me my fine, please’ in Spanish, and is thought to be effective in preventing bribery and false fines. Though we can’t speak from experience, we read and were told on different occasions to use this phrase to ask for a physical copy of your charge. Then, police officers will either wave you on or give you a an official (albeit false) ticket to be paid at a local police station.

Car insurance laws in Mexico

When browsing rental cars in Mexico you will probably notice that some are incredibly cheap and others cost much more. That's because some come with insurance coverage included, while others don't. Driving and car insurance in Mexico is a complicated business, and something that you should research thoroughly before renting your car.

In Mexico it is a legal requirement that all drivers are covered for damage and liability. This can mean that covering your car and drivers costs more than renting the car itself.

To begin with, there are a number of different types of insurance and other coverage that your car hire company will ask you to pay. We used America Cars at Cancun Airport (they provide a transfer from the airport to their office) and were asked to take out further insurance on picking up our car. It’s frustrating and you want to say no… But the risk of fines and other legal implications means it's best to take out all the coverage you can get.

Their laws are very strict . And they differ somewhat to the laws in other countries. For example, if you cause a crash that puts the breadwinner of a Mexican family out of work, you would not only be liable to damage to their vehicle but you would also be expected to cover the cost of income that their family loses out on until the injured driver can return to work.

So if you can’t show proof of valid collision damage and liability insurance that’s relevant to the Mexican state you’re driving in, your car rental service will likely ask you to take this out when you go to rent your car.

Want to know more about our time in the Yucatan Peninsula? Read our blog here.