This page will explain how to get to Monterrey by car, including explaining the paperwork that is necessary to bring an American car into Mexico beyond the immediate border area.

OVERVIEW OF DRIVING TO MONTERREY

Overall, the process of driving to Monterrey is:

1. Drive to Laredo, TX via I-35.
2. Obtain Mexican auto insurance. This is available at AAA or other locations.
3. Drive across the border via International Bridge #2. Cost is currently US$3.00 (Feb. 2006).
4. Drive to the Mexican immigration/customs building.
5. At immigration/customs, obtain your tourist card and a permit for your vehicle.
6. Drive out of Nuevo Laredo, TX and take Mexican highway 85 south.
7. Go past customs at the 16 mile (26km) checkpoint.
8. Continue on highway 85 to the toll road.
9. Take toll road to Monterrey--you'll pay the toll (N$185, about US$18) about halfway to Monterrey.
10. Arrive in Monterrey.

By all means, get Mexican auto insurance before you drive into Mexico! Your American auto insurance is not valid in Mexico.

Mexico essentially presumes guilt until innocence is proven. This means that if you are involved in an automobile accident--even a small fender bender--your car may be impounded and/or you may be detained until such time as you make payments for the damage you caused. If you have Mexcan auto insurance, this will generally be accepted as "proof of payment" and you will normally be allowed to go on your way unless someone was injured. If you don't have Mexican auto insurance, you may be detained until such time as the guilty party in the accident is determined and, if you're responsible for the accident, until you pay for the damanges and any corresponding fines or tickets. With Mexican automobile insurance, the insurance adjuster will show up at the scene of the accident and will make sure you are not at a disadvantage because you don't speak Spanish or don't know local laws.

Never admit fault if you're in an accident in Mexico. Wait for the insurance adjuster and let him make his determination. Also note that those that are well-versed in the "way things work" in Mexico may pay a bribe to the traffic officer on the scene so that his version of events is accepted. For this reason it's even more important that you have Mexican automobile insurance.

Again, your American auto insurance is NOT valid in Mexico regardless of what your American insurance policy says. Mexican authorities will not accept American insurance as proof of ability to pay for damages. So even if your American insurance policy covers you, you may end up detained until such time as you or your insurance policy makes the necessary payments.

You may obtain Mexican auto insurance at AAA or a number of other businesses that you can find in border towns. You can also purchase it ahead of time here.

DRIVING INTO MEXICO

Driving into Mexico in Nuevo Laredo is accomplished by taking I-35 south until it ends with some stoplights just before the border. After passing the stoplights you'll reach the international bridge tollbooth. As of February 2006, the toll is US$3.00--remember there is also a toll at the bridge when you drive back from Mexico into the U.S. when you return. Whether you're driving into or out of Mexico, the tolls may be paid in either dollars or pesos.

After paying the toll you'll drive across the bridge and, in the process, enter Mexico. The official border is halfway across the bridge although for all sense and purposes the bridge is "no-man's land." The American authorities will be behind you and the Mexican authorities aren't encountered until you reach the end of the bridge.

End of I-35

International bridge toll booth

Crossing the international bridge GPS: N27'30.139" W99'30.190"

ENTERING MEXICO

Entering Mexico can be a little stressful for the first-time American and, quite frankly, it's hard to ignore the huge difference of the "scenery" on each side of the bridge. The U.S. side is relatively organized and clean while the Mexican side is seemingly unorganized with lots of street vendors and it just feels somewhat old, dirty, and run-down. This is the typical Mexican "border down" and they've earned the reputation they have for a reason.

Green light at Mexican customs in Nuevo Laredo

As you approach Mexico on the international bridge you'll have to choose one of several lanes. If you have something to declare to Mexican customs, enter the right-most lane that reads "DECLARE LANE". Most visitors will want to use one of the other lanes ("NOTHING TO DECLARE").

When you drive through one of the NOTHING TO DECLARE LANES, you'll see a stoplight ahead of you and to the left (see picture to the right). If, when you drive past it, it turns green then you may proceed with no further delays. If the light turns red and a bell rings then that means you've been selected randomly to have a customs inspection. You'll be waived by a Mexican customs official into one of the parking areas on the right side of the street where you'll probably be asked to open up your luggage, etc. This is more of a hassle than anything--unless you are carrying prohibited goods and/or are bringing in commercial quantities of products, it's normally just a matter of opening up your luggage and letting the customs inspector check it out. Once he's satisfied that you're not smuggling then you'll be allowed to continue on.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have something to declare, declare it! If you fail to declare something you were supposed to declare then customs can impose a fine for three times the value of the good in question and confiscate the good. While, as an American, you may have some luck appealing to ignorance of what was and wasn't supposed to be declared, I wouldn't count on that working.

WHERE TO GO ONCE INSIDE MEXICO

Once you've crossed the bridge and passed initial customs as described above, you're going to want to take an immediate left at the very first street--as of March 2005, there is an exchange business on the corner ("Auto Cambio"). Take a left there. In the first picture below, you can see a white car turning left and a green sign for Monterrey pointing to the left. Take that left and follow it (second picture) until it ends at a street (third picture).

Immediate left turn in Mexico GPS: N27'29.845" W99'30.166"

Follow the road

Until it merges with another street

Once the street ends, merge with the street by veering to the right. After about a quarter of a mile you'll reach a stoplight (first picture below). Most Americans will need to get their tourist card and vehicle permit--if so, go to the stoplight and wait for the left-turn arrow. Taking a left at this stoplight will essentially put you on a frontage road that will take you under the international bridge you just crossed (second picture) and take you to the Mexican customs/immigration building (third picture). At this building you will park your car, enter the building on the leftmost entrance, and process your tourist card and vehicle permit (see below).

Stoplight for car permits GPS: N27'29.741" W99'29.504"

Passing under international bridge

Customs/Immigration in Nuevo Laredo GPS: N27'29.917" W99'30.271"

TOURIST CARD

Americans wishing to visit Mexico (other than within the 16-mile border region) must obtain a tourist card. This is essentially a temporary visa granted by the Mexican government that allows you to travel within Mexico. This used to be free--now it is only free if you need the tourist card for less than 7 days; if you need it for more than 7 days then you'll be given a 180-day tourist card for US$22.

In any case, the tourist cards are paper, not cards. They are obtained at the immigration authority which, in Nuevo Laredo, can be found at the same location as vehicle permits are obtained (see below). This is in a large building just west of International Bridge #2 (picture of building to right). This building is right below a large Mexican flag that is normally easily visible as you enter the country--however, sometimes they don't have the flag raised in which case you'll just see an empty mast as is the case in the picture to the right.

For a tourist card you need to either present your American birth certificate or your passport; presenting your passport is definitely preferred.

When you leave the country, be sure to return the tourist card to the immigration office of your port of exit. If you stay in Mexico for longer than 180 days you will have violated their immigration laws and may be deported or fined. Returning the tourist card is their way of knowing that you left on time. To avoid problems on future visits to Mexico, be sure to turn in your tourist card when you leave the country.

VEHICLE PERMIT

Since cars are siginificantly cheaper in the U.S. than in Mexico, Mexicans would very much like to be able to buy cars in the U.S. and drive them in Mexico. In fact, in the past, they have done just that: There was a period of time in the late 90's that the most common license plate seen in Monterrey--after Nuevo Leon, the state in which Monterrey is located--was Texas. It's not that there were that many visitors from Texas but rather that Mexicans were buying cars in Texas and driving them to Monterrey for use in their daily lives.

Needless to say, Mexican authorities were not pleased with this. The reason cars are so expensive in Mexico is because of the importation costs and taxes applied to new vehicles. Cars purchased in the U.S. and not properly imported effectively bypass Mexico's high vehicle taxes. As a result, foreign vehicles are heavily controlled to try to keep Mexicans from buying their cars in the United States and avoiding taxation.

The end result is that only residents of a foreign country--or those foreigners that are temporarily living in Mexico--may bring a foreign car into Mexico. In order to control this, foreigners that wish to drive their American car into Mexico must go through a certain amount of paperwork in order to obtain a "Temporary Importation" document that allows them to drive their car into Mexico. Without this paperwork an American car cannot be legally driven beyond the 16 mile border region. Since Monterrey is located farther from the border than 16 miles, all foreigners wishing to drive to Monterrey will have to obtain this paperwork for their vehicle.

To obtain a vehicle permit, you'll need:

1. The current registration for the vehicle. Make sure it's current since they may choose to examine the document closely and see if it's expired. NOTE: I last renewed my vehicle permit in February 2006 an they do make sure it's current.
2. A copy of your immigration document. This may be your tourist card or, if you live in Mexico, your FM-3 work visa.
3. A credit card issued in the United States. They will charge you approximately US$29.00 regardless of whether or not you're taking the car into Mexico for a week or for 6 months.
4. They used to require a copy of your vehicle title and even wanted to see the original. I don't think they require this anymore, but if you have paid off your vehicle and have its title on hand, I would recommend bringing it. It's better to have too much paperwork on hand rather than too little. Mexican government officials seem to be very good at asking for precisely those documents that you don't have with you. It'd be unfortunate to drive hundreds or thousands of miles to Nuevo Laredo and then be told you can't complete your trip to Monterrey because you didn't bring enough paperwork. NOTE: In March 2006 I had to renew my vehicle permit and, as fate would have it, for the first time in 10 years I forgot to bring my title. I did have my registration, driver's license, and U.S. credit card. They didn't ask for my title and I had no problem. I didn't want to bring attention to the fact that I didn't have my title so I didn't ask why they didn't ask for it, but when I cancel my vehicle registration in March 2006, I do plan on asking when/if the vehicle title is ever necessary. I'm beginning to think it might only be necessary if you don't have current registration. When I have more information on whether or not the title is truly necessary, I'll post it here.

Once you have the necessary copies, you'll get in a line where you'll present all your documentation, give them copies of the documents they require, they'll charge your credit card, and they'll give you a temporary vehicle importation document. That's it!

The temporary vehicle importation document consists of a hologram sticker that you place on the inside of your windshield just behind your rear-view mirror. It also includes a 2-page document that you will sign and which you'll keep with you in the car. Don't lose the document! If a foreign car is found in Mexico without proper documentation, the vehicle may be confiscated. Likewise, don't sell your car in Mexico or your credit card may be charged a fine. Also, don't loan your car to any Mexican--only you, your spouse, and your children and other foreign nationals may drive your car. A Mexican may only drive your car if you are in the vehicle, too. Even if your paperwork is completely in order, if a Mexican is caught driving your vehicle without you, your car may be confiscated.

Vehicle permits generally have the same expiration date as your tourist card--thus they'll normally be valid for 180 days. When you leave the country, be sure to cancel your vehicle permit by returning to the same building and asking to have them cancel the permit. You cannot bring another car into Mexico until you have cancelled your previous permit, and you may only bring one car in at a time. It is possible that they will not let you get a new vehicle permit if you haven't cancelled a permit that you previously requested.

DRIVING TO MONTERREY

Once you've got your tourist card and vehicle permit, leave the parking area and turn right on the frontage road. This will take you back to the stoplight where you previously turned left to reach the customs/immigration building.

When you reach the stoplight, turn left. This road is a bypass highway that will allow you to get to the far side of Nuevo Laredo without actually driving through it. This is definitely worthwhile since border towns are always worth avoiding--and recently things have gotten kind of bad in Nuevo Laredo so avoiding it makes more sense than ever.

Follow the bypass highway (first picture below) for about 7 miles. This is a 4-lane highway and it's very easy to drive 60-80 miles per hour on it, but DON'T! The speed limit is 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour and there is almost always a traffic cop somewhere along the road just waiting to pull over someone driving too fast. My recommendation is to set the cruise control at 50 or 55 miles per hour even if people are flying past you.

After about 7 miles, you'll reach a stoplight just before an underpass (second picture). The highway that goes over the bridge is highway 85 to Monterrey so stop at the stoplight and turn left as you pass under the bridge. As soon as the bridge ends, merge left onto the highway and follow it south.

The highway leaving Nuevo Laredo right after you merge is in relatively good condition, but pay careful attention to the lines that define the lanes. The lanes tend to go right and left unexpectedly--this is confusing during the day and can even be dangerous at night if you're not familiar with the highway. Also, cars and trucks will merge unexpectedly from the right side of the highway and also end up doing turns across the highway to the left. In all, the road is generally in good condition but the design is absolutely terrible.

As I recall, the speed limit along this stretch of highway is 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour. Follow the speed limit! There are often traffic cops along this stretch of highway and they're more than happy to pull you over and see if they can extort some beer money out of you. Keep it at 50 miles per hour and you should be fine.

Bypass highway to avoid Nuevo Laredo

Highway 85 underpass, turn left for Monterrey GPS: N27'25.523" W99'31.880"

Highway leaving Nuevo Laredo

After a couple of miles, the highway which was in rather good condition will suddenly become quite poor condition right about the same time the streetlights in the center median end. See the picture below and to the right--if you click on it to see the large version you'll see just how bad the highway is. Please be careful in this section of highway--some of the potholes and bumps are surprisingly large. In fact, I even heard that NASA may consider these to be full-fledged craters and will include them in future maps of the globe, right along side the Arizona Meteor Crater. :) Some of these potholes can be dangerous when hit at high speed and, at the very least, can be surprising and cause your car to need alignment when you get back. Drive slow, be very careful, and be prepared to swerve to avoid the craters as you see them (but don't swerve into a car in the lane next to you). Also, be careful of vehicles and trucks that may stop in the left lane with the intention of turning left across the highway.

Potholes in highway south of Nuevo Laredo

After about 12 miles you'll reach a customs and immigration inspection point. You may ask, "Didn't I just go through this at the border?" Yes, you did. But now they're going to check to make sure you did it--otherwise you could just drive into Mexico and no-one would be the wiser, right?

You'll approach a point where the road splits in two (see first picture below). Cars should veer to the right while semis will veer to the left. If you miss the fork in the road where cars should veer right, just continue slowly until you see some place where you can drive across the dirt median to get back on course. After driving about a mile on the "car road" you'll reach the immigration and customs checkpoint.

The first stop is a small roofed area that you'll drive under (second picture). In theory, immigration officials should check to make sure you have your tourist card here--and they very well may, especially since you'll have American license plates. But, for whatever reason, they've only checked my immigration documents once or twice in the last five years even though my car has American license plates. So if there's no-one there or they just waive you through, don't be surprised. But have your tourist cards ready in case they ask you to roll down your window to check them. At worst, this is a minute delay as they review your documents--you won't even have to get out of the car. At best, there won't be anyone there and you can just drive on through.

After you've passed through the immigration checkpoint, you have one more customs checkpoint (see third picture below). This works exactly like it did when you first entered Mexico at the international bridge: There is one lane (far left) that you drive through if you have something to declare. The rest of the lanes are for if you don't have anything to declare. I would think virtually everyone would pick the "nothing to declare" lanes since if you had something to declare, you would've declared it when you first entered the country. If you've already declared it, you don't have to declare it again. In any case, there will be another stoplight just like when you entered the country: If it's green then you can just drive on through. If it turns red and a bell rings, you'll be flagged down for a custom inspection to the left.

Split in road for customs, veer right! GPS Approx: N27'17.714" W99.36.099"

Immigration checkpoint

Customs checkpoint GPS: N27'16.945" W99'36.547"

Once you've passed this final immigration/customs checkpoint, you can consider yourself really in Mexico. All you have to do now is drive the rest of the way to Monterrey: About 130 miles beyond the immigration/customs checkpoint.

The first 30 miles beyond the checkpoint is on the "free" 4-lane highway (first picture below). You'll find this in varying conditions--if it's been recently repaved, it may be quite comfortable. Or you may have bad luck and find it in heavily potholed condition. Regardless of condition, there is no shoulder and, in fact, the highway may drop off a good 5 or 6 feet on either the left or right side of the road--so be very careful, especially at night, if you have to pull over for some reason: be sure that pulling over doesn't mean "falling off."

Sometimes there will be a military checkpoint somewhere along the highway (second picture below). Even though they have big guns, this is normally quite trivial. Usually they'll just waive you through. If not, they might just ask where you're traveling from, where you're traveling to, and what the purpose of your trip is. If you're unlucky they might want to inspect your vehicle or luggage, but this is uncommon. Even if it happens it's usually no big deal--they're just making sure you're not carrying drugs or arms. In any case, this checkpoint isn't always there; but if it's there, don't be surprised or worried. The Mexican military is actually quite friendly and relatively uncorrupted--compared to traffic police, Mexican police, or Mexican customs officials, I'd much rather be inspected by the Mexican military.

Highway 85 towards Monterrey

Military checkpoint

30 miles after the customs/immigration checkpoint you'll have to decide whether you want to continue on the "free" highway or take the toll road. It's a lose-lose decision: The "free" highway becomes a 2-lane highway of relatively low quality, lots of trucks that you need to pass (and which want to pass each other), and takes you through a small town and is not exactly a straight line to Monterrey. The toll-road is a 4-lane highway in generally good, maintained condition with ample shoulders, occasional pull-offs with trash cans, and avoids all towns completely--but it costs 180 pesos (US$17) as of March 2005. That, by any standard, is highway robbary (pun intended). Anyway, I recommend the toll road even though it is absurdly expensive for a 60 mile strip of highway.

To take the toll road, you'll veer left at the sign that says "Autopista de Cuota" (first picture below). Be advised that as you veer left you'll actually be crossing oncoming traffic from the "free" highway heading towards Laredo--don't worry, they have a stopsign so you can just cruise right on through--but it can be quite frightening since it might look like the trucks aren't going to stop; and at night it looks like you're driving into oncoming traffic.

Once on the toll road, it's pretty much like driving on an American 4-lane divided highway or freeway. After about 29 miles you'll reach the toll plaza (second picture below) where you'll have the joy of paying the equivalent of about US$17 for your use of this rather ordinary, unspectacular freeway. This ought to help you appreciate the freeway system in the United States.

Entrance to toll road (veer left) GPS: N26'53.226" W99'49.124"

Toll plaza: US$17! GPS: N26'30.739" W100'00.432"

About 43 miles beyond the toll plaza you'll reach the end of the toll road just on the outskirts of Monterrey--you'll know you've reached the end of the toll road when you see the monument in the first picture below in the median of the highway.

When the toll road ends, just keep following the same road. You'll pass an airport on the right side of the road and traffic and buildings will increase as you enter the city. Eventually you'll reach the suburb of San Nicholas de las Garza--again, you'll know you're there when you see the monument in the second picture. Just keep following the same road.

South end of toll road GPS: N25'53.124" W100'13.276"

Monument in San Nicholas suburb

After you pass the San Nicholas monument above, you'll be in the city and there'll be a lot of stoplights. Stay in the middle lane when possible. When you see a Carl's Jr. restauraunt on the right (see first picture below), get in the right lane since you'll be taking the right-hand exit that reads "MANUEL L. BARRAGAN - SUR".

Once you've taken the BARRAGAN exit and merged into the street that that exit takes you to, start moving left to the left-hand lane--be careful when you do so as the traffic will be moving fairly quick. Nonetheless, move to the left-hand lane and look for the next exit which will, again, read "MANUEL L. BARRAGAN - SUR" and which is a left-lane exit that leads to a small bridge that veers to the left.

Having taken that exit you will be on a wide street heading south. Within about half a mile the street becomes divided and you'll want to be on the right side of the divide so once you're on the southbound street, move to the right.

At this point, just keep following the road. You'll pass a number of stoplights and the surroundings will look more and more like a crowded downtown city. Eventually, you'll reach a monument in the form of an arc in the middle of the street (see third picture below). You're now in downtown Monterrey at the intersection of Madero and Pino Suarez. Where you go from here depends on where you'll be staying in Monterrey. Consult a map of Monterrey to get directions from that intersection to your destination.

Carl's Jr. on right

Exit left

Downtown Monterrey

GENERAL TIPS FOR DRIVING TO/IN MONTERREY

Here are some general tips to keep in mind when driving to or in Monterrey.

• Don't stop in Nuevo Laredo. Avoid stopping in the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo. Instead, get a full tank of gas on the U.S. side of the border so that your only stop between the U.S. and Mexico will be to obtain your tourist card and vehicle permit. Gas is more expensive and of lower quality in Mexico and it's simply a good idea to spend as little time as possible in Mexican border towns.

• Flashing Headlights. If someone behind you flashes their high beams at you, it's probably because you're in the left lane and going too slow. Flashing the headlights is a way of saying "get out of the way." If you're on a narrow road and an oncoming car flashes their headlights at you, that means "You stop because I'm going first." In this case, yield the right of the way to person that flashed his headlights.

• Turn Signals on Highways. Turn signals on 2-lane highways have two purposes. The first purpose is the normal use which indicates a vehicle is going to move into the other lane to pass. However, on 2-lane highways if you're stuck behind a large truck they may turn on their left turn signal and then do nothing. In this case, the left turn signal is probably their way of telling you that they can see down the highway and it is safe for you to pass them. This is very considerate of them, of course, but be very careful--you don't want to misinterpret a left-turn signal as a sign that you can pass when, maybe, the truck itself plans to move left and pass whoever is in front of him. And then there's just common sense about trusting someone else to decide when you can or should move into the oncoming lane to pass.

• Taxis and busses. When in the city of Monterrey and its suburbs, watch out for taxis (painted green) and city busses. They have a very bad reputation of being reckless and dangerous drivers. The city busses, especially, are bad news. They often drive at high speeds when the busses are in poor condition. Tragically, busses in Monterrey have killed many passengers as well as people in cars they have hit in their reckless maneuvers. Busses will normally tend to stay in the right-hand lanes of a road, but always be careful when approaching or passing a bus: be ready to take evasive action if the bus suddenly decides to invade your lane without warning.

• Use your horn. Don't be afraid to use your horn. It seems that in most American cities, using the horn is considered rude. Not so in Mexico--it's almost a given that you'll use the horn from time to time. If you're in someone's blind spot or you're not sure that another car sees you, a quick tap of the horn is a good way to make sure they're aware of you. If someone cuts you off (or is about to) or it looks like they have no intention of stopping, don't be shy about laying on your horn until they react. Also, if someone honks at you, don't take it personally. People just use their horns more liberally in Mexico.

• Unintended Offensiveness. It is very important to know that the melody and rhythm for the traditional song that goes "Shave and a haircut, two bits" is considered extremely offensive in Mexico. For whatever reason, the words they put to that song are "Chinga tu madre, cabron" which means "F*ck your mother, *sshole". When you're driving down the road you may hear someone honk out that song with their horn. Doing so is extremely offensive and is saved for the worst of traffic offenses--when someone does something downright stupid, dangerous, and really annoys another driver. I would recommend not doing this yourself, though. Mothers are considered extremely sacred in Mexican culture and even if you honk out that tune with your horn to express dissatisfaction with someone's driving, they can take it as an insult against their mother... and some may respond violently. Even when you're not driving, don't hum that song in Mexico--it'd be kind of like walking around giving everyone the finger. Of course, they'll probably just look at you strangely, but why would you want that? :)

• Police and Transit Police. In Monterrey, there are police and transit police. Unlike in the U.S., one police organization enforces traffic laws while another enforces the rest of the laws. Normally the real police won't bother you, nor will they stop you for driving too fast, etc. The ones you have to watch out for are the transit police. These are either on foot on the sides of streets, on motorcycles, or in police cars that have the worded "TRANSITO" on them. The transit police will pull you over. They're also quite corrupt. If they pull you over, what they're really probably interested in is getting a small bribe out of you so they can buy some tacos or beer. Most Mexicans tend to offer them a small bribe (20 or 30 pesos) to get out of a ticket. As an American you'll probably be at a disadvantage because they'll assume you have a lot more money so they might want more--maybe 100 or 200 pesos. Personally, I'd recommend not bribing them. Just follow the traffic laws and they shouldn't pull you over at all. If they do, just indicate that you'd rather get the ticket. If you're lucky, the transit officer won't speak English and he may just give up trying to communicate with you. Most of the time they'll probably not give you a ticket anyway because they'd rather not go through the hassle: Since you have out-of-state plates, they'd have to take you to the transit police headquarters for you to pay the ticket on the spot, etc. Most of them would rather stay at their post and see who else they can stop to get a bribe out of. But do keep in mind that if you don't bribe them and they do write you a ticket, you'll probably lose about two hours since they'll have to accompany you to transit police headquarters.

• Police Lights. In Mexico, if a police or transit police is behind you with their red/blue flashing lights on, that does not normally mean they want you to pull over. Police and transit police often (but not always) turn on their flashing lights to indicate they are in-service and/or so people see them and act/drive accordingly. If a police or transit police wants you to pull over, they'll usually honk a strange-sounding horn at you and/or pull along side you on your left side and actually wave you over.

• Pedestrians. As in the United States, pedestrians technically have the right of way. That means if you hit a pedestrian, you are normally considered to be at fault since you were driving the car. In reality, however, cars are assumed to have the right of way. That is to say, people are not going to walk in front of a moving car in a parking lot assuming the car will yield--pedestrians will assume the car won't yield and the pedestrian will wait accordingly. Same on streets. However, pedestrians will start walking across the street in such a way that they're timing themselves so they'll cross just after you pass. That means as you drive down the road it may look like a pedestrian is going to walk in front of your car--in reality, they probably won't. They're probably just getting a head start so that they can cross right after you pass. If you slow down you'll normally confuse the pedestrian who is probably walking at a pace such as to cross your lane just after you pass. Nevertheless, when in doubt, slow down--it's better to confuse the pedestrian than to run over him. If you slow down and you intend to let the pedestrian cross in front of you, be sure to signal him with your hand that you are giving him a chance to cross in front of you.

• Speed Limits. In the city of Monterrey, speed limits do not seem to be strictly enforced except in school zones where they are very strictly enforced. For the most part, if you aren't driving at excessively high speeds you probably won't be stopped. Still, it's a good idea to not go flying by a transit police. Also, the transit police in San Pedro (upper-class southwestern suburb of Monterrey) are quite a bit more strict and are also more honest--which means they aren't as open to bribes as the transit police in Monterrey.

• Kilometers, not miles! Keep in mind that speed limits are posted in kilometers per hour, not miles per hour. If the speed limit is 80 kph, that's about 50 miles per hour. If you treat the speed limits as miles per hour you'll be going way too fast and you'll probably eventually be pulled over by a transit police.

• Stoplights. Stoplights in Mexico work just slightly different than in the U.S. When a light is going to change from green to red, the green light will first flash briefly, then the yellow light will turn on, and then the red light. This gives you a little more warning that a light is about to turn. If a light starts flashing green and you have any doubts about being able to get through it before it turns red, STOP. Since you have more warning that a light is about to turn, there is less justification for the driver that claims he thought he'd be able to make it through the yellow light but actually went through on red.

• Gas in Monterrey & Mexico. Gas is a government monopoly in Mexico that is sold to consumers at franchised gas stations called "Pemex". You'll see them pretty much everywhere with their easy-to-see green signs. All Pemex stations will have the same quality gas and same (high) prices--as of March 2005, gas costs 8.7 pesos per liter (US$3.02/gallon); and the price just keeps going up. It never goes down. Gas is available in 87 ("Green") and 91 ("red")octane--feel free to buy whichever you prefer. I used to buy 91 but I'm not convinced it's really of any higher quality than the 87. The biggest problem with Mexican gas is contaminants and water in the gas itself. Some gas stations actually add a small amount of water to the gas so that they can sell, say, 1.1 liters to the consumer made up of 1.0 liters of gas and 0.1 liters of water. Other gas stations intentionally manipulate the pump to dispense less gas than what is displayed on the screen; that means the pump may say it dispensed 40 liters when it really only dispensed 35. In any case, I wouldn't worry about Mexican gas causing any permanent damage to your motor. I've been using Mexican gas for a decade and while I do get better gas mileage in the U.S., I can't say that I've ever had any car problems that I could attribute to the low quality gas. If you're really concerned about the condition of your motor, you may want to get your fuel injectors cleaned when you return ot the United States. Mexican gas stations will also offer to sell you fuel additives (apparently to make up for the inherently poor gasoline quality). Again, feel free to buy it if you want--but I certainly don't.

• Street Flooding. In summer months, afternoon thunderstorms are common which produce a lot of rain in a short amount of time. Added to this problem is the fact that Monterrey has virtually no effective storm drainage system and many roads simply weren't built with drainage concerns taken under consideration. Surprisingly, even newly built roads don't seem to take into account storm flooding. The result is that in summer months it is quite common for a 15- or 30-minute rain storm to cause an impressive amount of flooding on the main streets. Most residential neighborhoods are ok, but the main roads become certified lakes and rivers. In these cases, it is best to avoid driving unless you are very familiar with the area and know where deep puddles and rivers form. Many, many cars become stranded due to the high water level on the road. So, again, unless you are familiar with the area and know which areas to avoid due to flooding or unless you have a relatively high clearance vehicle, avoid driving in Monterrey if an intense rain lasts for more than about 10 minutes. Instead, give the waters time to subside.