Driving in Mexico requires the development of a different set of skills that are not acquired from driving in the USA. Americans tend to obey the rules of the road, unless they think no one is watching. Mexicans, on the other hand, view all traffic signs and signals as mere suggestions. In general, driver’s courtesy is nonexistent.

Don’t think you have the right of way just because you have the green light. Oh, no! In Mexico, es la ley del más rápido. Survival of the swiftest! Be prepared to be cut off by that unseen, rapidly approaching car coming out from seemingly nowhere! You must always be prepared to slam on your brakes for those occasions. Heaven help you if you collide with another vehicle. For, El que pega, paga. That’s right! The striking vehicle must pay for the damages, regardless of whose fault it really was.

In Mexico City, you’re either flooring the gas pedal or slamming on the brakes. It’s one extreme or the other. And unless you’re thoroughly familiar with the area, you will end up driving the wrong way down a one-way street. I know I did it a few times. What surprised about my mistake is how courteous and patient Mexican drivers were with my mistake. Was it because of my Illinois license plate? Or the fact that I was driving head on into three lanes of traffic with all oncoming cars speeding toward me. I imagined a deadly game of chicken, but instead, all the drivers stopped and allowed me to turn around and drive in the correct direction. Then I remembered that the striking vehicle must pay, so of course, everyone wants to avoid accidents.

Another contributing factor to all this driving madness is the layout of all the streets that rarely follow the grid pattern of modern cities like Chicago. Streets in Mexico City curve and angle like a tangled mess of spaghetti. It’s not unusual to have to accelerate to merge with high-speed traffic, quickly change three or four lanes, and then practically slam on the brakes to make a turn. Oh, what fun!

As I’m driving to Mexico from Chicago, I notice how flat the terrain is compared to the mountains I will negotiate once I enter Mexico. On the U.S. side there were some rolling hills along the way, but nothing compared to the steep grades in the Mexican mountains that sometimes cause my car to sputter on the way up. And as if that weren’t scary enough, some roads actually run alongside the edge of a cliff for long distances. They don’t believe in guardrails in Mexico. Talk about the thrill of adventure!

In Laredo, the streets are gridlocked with traffic from Christmas shoppers. Everyone seems to gravitate toward Wal-Mart where I went to use their ATM. I actually had to wait in line to drive into the parking lot. Everyone, Mexicans and non-Mexicans alike, is speaking Spanish here. This part of town sure feels like Mexico right now. A lot of Mexicans came to Laredo to shop for the holidays. One man told me that he came all the way from Monterrey. I don’t quite understand it. There are plenty of Wal-Marts in Mexico, which I like because that’s were I can get Mexican pesos with my ATM card. This is my fifth time here in a year, but this is the most crowded that I’ve seen it. I can’t wait to drive into Mexico and get out of here. As my mother said when asked why she was moving out of Back of the Yards, “Too many Mexicans!”

Driving to Mexico would be much more difficult if it weren’t for this handy dandy road atlas. Well, even with the atlas I still got lost. But eventually I got to wherever I had to go. An impossible journey without the atlas. This atlas is published in English, Spanish, and German. German? There must be a lot of German tourists in Mexico. Oh, yes, I did see a German couple at the pyramids in Teotihuacán last July. This atlas has served me well my last two trips to Mexico. This time I have a backup–my iPhone! With GPS!