In the parts of Mexico we’ve seen, there appears to be a different approach to speed bumps than what we are used to in the U.S. In the States, you paint the speed bumps white or yellow, so they are easy to spot and so drivers slow down. The idea is to keep people from coming through really fast because they can see that there is a speed bump.

In Mexico, speed bumps seem to be used as punishment instead of a deterrent. The speed bumps are made to blend in as much as possible. I guess the idea is that if you are going to fast you’ll ruin your car and maybe you’ll be more careful next time.

Before we headed back to the U.S. for the holidays, I took the car on a quick drive around Durango to get gas and get it washed for the trip. My friend was explaining how the roads worked and who had the right of way. He said that most of the East/West roads in the center of the city had the right of way and most of the North/South roads had to yield. Sometimes this was marked with stop signs, but there are several intersections where there is no markings at all. I asked how you know who has the right of way, and he said you just know by living there for awhile.

I don’t understand how you could give someone a ticket for not obeying a non-existent sign. Before you travel in a town you’d have to get a list of all their streets and read each one to see who has the right of way. I think I’m safer just assuming the other person isn’t going to stop.