RULES OF THE ROAD IN OAXACA

Give one example of an oxymoron. You guessed it. But just when you think youre comfortable driving in this city, apparently without hardfast or enforced regulations, there you are, transito (a traffic cop) waving you over, giving you a ticket, removing your license plate or towing your vehicle. Watching and learning what other drivers do does not provide any comfort or assurance that you wont end up paying a fine, perhaps with your car having vanished, or being honked at by other motorists. All I can do is offer some understanding and explanation, and the rest is up to you.

Lets start with the premise that this particular local government employee isnt paid all that well, and therefore has limited resources, in the multiple sense of the word. Ive been told he earns about 6,000 pesos per month, and also that he earns about 2,000 pesos per month and therefore relies on making his wages on the street. Keep this is mind, or search for your own statistics. One thing for sure is that he probably earns less than the average Oaxacan (about 65,000 pesos annually according to most recent statistics)not like the law enforcement officers we know who retire in their fifties with good pensions to then start a second career in the security field.

Im convinced that no one knows the traffic laws and that whatever is being enforced is done so haphazardly or on a whim. The point is that even when you think youre doing the right thing or know the law, you may still be pulled over, fined or bear the wrath of irate motorists. What follows is a smattering of assistance for would-be Oaxacan drivers, constituting acceptable driving practices, not necessarily the lawnor what will keep you out of trouble. But over the past fifteen years Ive only been pulled over three timesonce for a u-turn in a major intersection, another time for driving without plates, and recently for simply not knowing what to do in the middle of a weird-looking intersection with even stranger traffic signals (to date not a single fine).

Keep in mind that frequently lanes arent clearly or at all marked, and lights arent always working, at least for one direction of traffic. When you see two or more transito directing in an intersection, do not assume that theyre working in unison. I recently saw one officer clipping his fingernails while apparently directing traffic.

WHO HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY?
Many intersections dont have yield or stop signs, or lights. Most up and down big streets have the right of way, as do most major cross streets, but its a matter of learning over time which street is which, what constitutes a big or major one, and even once youve done so, being cautious upon entering every intersection because you dont know if the other guy knows. At traffic lights, green has the right of way, but not immediately. Youre probably accustomed to driving in a jurisdiction where theres a delay of a second or two between the other driver getting the red, and you getting the green. No so in Oaxaca. Before proceeding, edge out carefully to see how many drivers will be speeding through the red. They say that sem