Newcomer Tips

Emergencies - 066
Local Calls - Dial 7 digit number
Dialing Assistance - 020 or 1-800-123-2223
City dialing Codes:
    Ajijic - (376) 766
    Chapala - (376) 765
    Ixtiahuacan - 762
    Jocotepec - (387) 763
    Riberas del Pilar - 765
    San Antonio Tlay - 766
    San Juan Cosalá - 761
    San Nicolas - 763
    San Luis Soyatian - 764
    Vista del Lago - 763
International Calls - 001 + area code + 7 digit number
800 numbers:
    USA 800 Number: 001 + 800 + 7 digit number
    Mexico 800 Number: 01 + 800 + 7 digit number


Driving Tips

When driving you will do well to consider the idea that what we might consider as traffic rules or laws are seen more as "suggestions" here. Remember to drive defensively, but never so carefully that you are the cause of accidents.


Traffic Lights:

Always look both ways before you move after your light turns red to green, because you'll often get someone speeding to get through the light after they should. When traffic lights are about to turn red, the green will blink several times (not all signals do this), the yellow will flash for a second, then the light turns immediately to red. When you see the green start to blink, prepare to stop but always watch in your rear view mirror for the person behind you who may want to race through the light. Step on your brakes several times, flashing them, to warn the driver you are stopping. This is a good rule in heavy traffic also.


Circles (Glorietas):

The cars within the circle have the right of way.


Turning and Laterals:

Some roads have express lanes and lateral roads (the side or "frontage" roads like on Lopez Mateos in Guadalajara). Usually turns must be made from the lateral left and right. If you see a traffic light with five lights (two reds, one yellow, one green and one arrow), it usually means it is a left turn corner. Only turn left when the green arrow on the bottom or right is lit up. The regular green light alone does not signify that you can turn left at these corners. Watch for the ‘No Turns’ or other international driving signs. A right turn on a red light after stopping is permitted in Jalisco.


Getting Gas:

You have one option, the state run gas company, Pemex. You can get unleaded, "Magna Sin" gas, or "Premium" unleaded gas. To fill the car, tell them "lleno" (yeno) or the peso amount you want. A receipt is a "nota". Giving the attendant a peso or two is often good idea.


Stopped by the police:

If you have Mexican documents, give the police those as opposed to your own country's. Mexican documents will be returned by police, but you own country’s may not be until you pay the traffic ticket. Some police look for a mordida or a payment to "take are of your fine" when you are stopped. This is attributed to the low salaries and a difference in attitudes. If you receive a ticket and pay your fine in the first 10 days, there is a 50% discount.


Who enforces the traffic laws?

Federal Preventive Police (PFP) have jurisdiction over all toll roads and other federal highways, including the stretch running between the outskirts of Chapala and the Periferico at the Guadalajara city limits. PFP officers may be recognized by their black and white patrol cars and khaki uniforms.

SVT officers take over the enforcement of traffic laws once a vehicle crosses into the city limits. They also patrol state highways, such as the Chapala ­Jocotepec Carretera. State Transito officials don blue and white uniforms. They direct street traffic on foot and patrol thoroughfares in white cars and pick-up trucks marked with the SVT emblem or aboard motorcycles.

Chapala Municipal Police have no authority to enforce traffic regulations.

Motorists can contribute to the national campaign to stamp out official corruption by accepting traffic tickets rather than perpetuating the long ingrained custom of negotiating on-the-spot gratuities (mordidas) with traffic officers.

The fines applied to drivers and vehicle owners sanctioned for violations of the Jalisco Traffic Code are formulated in multiples of the current minimum wage rate. A 50-percent discount is applied if the fine is paid within five working days after a traffic ticket is issued. Payments made within 14 working days qualify for a 25 percent discount.

Regardless of where within Jalisco boundaries the violation occurred, motorists residing or visiting in the lakeside area may pay traffic fines at the state tax office in Chapala. The entrance is on the south side of Avenida Hidalgo #212. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In the Guadalajara metro area, fines may be paid at any Secretaria de Finanzas oficina recaudadora, as well as at many banks


Traffic Accidents:

Mexican law is based on Napoleonic code instead of Anglo Saxon code as in Canada and the U.S. This means you are guilty until proven innocent. Because of this, if there is an accident involving injury, all people can be taken into custody. This has led to the practice that many people will leave the scene of an accident. The rationale is that if you are guilty until proven innocent, a lawyer may be able to give you a better chance of avoiding jail.

Also, many people feel it is better to take the injured people to your choice of hospital since there are concerns about the quality of the 'Green Cross' hospitals used by the police. We aren't recommending any option to you. Talk to your insurance company, friends, and others and be prepared to make your choices or understand what happens at the scene.


More advice for Lakeside drivers

Following up on a review of the Jalisco Traffic Code presented in August, 2001 to the English speaking community Jaidi Corpus, of the Chapala Secretaria de Transporte y Vialidad (SVT) office, reported that 36 foreign residents turned up this week to apply for driver's permits. The bilingual official also offered additional useful information for local motorists.


Applying for a Driving License

According to Corpus, It takes approximately two hours to issue licenses to first-time applicants, including a briefing in English on traffic regulations, a written test, and document processing. Persons applying for renewals should expect about a one hour wait. Applicants presenting complete documentation are attended to on a first come, first serve basis.


Special service to English-speaking residents is offered alternate Tuesdays, starting 9 a.m.


Potential applicants may consult with Corpus at the SVT office, Avenida Hidalgo 90 in Riberas del Pilar, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.


Banks accept drivers’ licenses as proof of ID


Banks in Jalisco now accept drivers’ licenses issued by Jalisco's Department of Motor vehicles (SVT) as valid ID. The Jalisco Banking Center said the SVT has made intense efforts to reduce the possibility of falsifying the new licenses, which were introduced in August 2001. Jalisco joins the Estado de Mexico and Queretaro as the only Mexican states with these high security licenses.


Avoiding traffic violations

Corpus offered a variety of tips to help local motorists avoid run ins with Transito officers. She said the most common traffic violations committed in the Chapala area include illegal parking, running red lights, driving the wrong way on one way streets, and exceeding the speed limit. No parking zones are defined by yellow lines painted on curbs and signs showing an "E" enclosed in a red circle with a diagonal left to right slash. Parking is also prohibited within a six meter zone from any street corner.

The maximum speed limit along open stretches of the Chapala Jocotepec highway is 60 kilometers per hour. The limit drops to 30 kilometers per hour in populated areas and ten kilometers per hour in designated school zones.


Conflict points

Corpus made special mention of several specific points of conflict. In Chapala, she says, traffic accidents most often occur along Avenida Hidalgo between the Hotel Montecarlo and the Avenida Madero intersection. Accidents are often caused by careless drivers making prohibited maneuvers such as u-turns or passing slow moving vehicles.

Rear end collisions are frequently provoked when motorists slow down to drive over speed bumps or stop suddenly on the highway to make left turns. Corpus recommends that, whenever possible, drivers should pull over to the right shoulder and wait for traffic to clear before crossing the road to enter subdivisions or the San Antonio shopping area.

Motorists are also advised to exercise caution at the Carretera junction with the Ajijic-Chapala librarniento (by-pass). Traffic officers regularly monitor that spot to pull over drivers who zip through a red light or fail to wait for a green arrow before making a left turn.

Another common traffic violation is driving the wrong way on access roads running lateral to the highway. On the south side of the highway vehicles may circulate west to east only. The reverse is true on the opposite side.

Calle Encarnacion Rosas in Ajijic is also a trouble spot, Corpus notes, especially among drivers who head back towards the highway after doing business at La Nueva Posada and Lloyd. The street runs one way towards the lake for its entire length up to the final block south of the Calle 16 de Septiembre intersection.


FAQs for drivers of Canadian or US plated vehicles


Can an FM2 inmigrante drive a Canadian or US plated vehicle in Mexico?

Yes. FM2 inmigrante rentistas and FM3 no-inmigrantes can drive their vehicles in Mexico as long as their visas are valid, even though they may only have been given six-month permits at the border. Remember: Carry a copy of your visa in your car at all times. It is also recommended that motorists carry a copy of the Mexican Customs Law (Ley Aduanera) Article 106, section IV, paragraph a, with them in the car, in case an official is unaware of all the laws.


Can anyone apart from the legal owner of the foreign plated vehicle drive it in Mexico?

Spouses, brothers, sisters, children and grandparents who have the same immigration status as the owner of the vehicle are allowed to drive without the owners being in the vehicle. But the owner must be in the car if a Mexican citizen is driving the vehicle (spouses excepted). This is all explained in Mexican Customs law Article 106.

When the owner of a Canadian or US plated car becomes an FM2 inmigrado does he or she have to get rid of the vehicle?

Under the letter of the law, an inmigrado is obliged to take the vehicle out of the country. The law does not allow inmigrados to keep and drive Canadian or US plated vehicles in Mexico.

Can the vehicle be sold legally in Mexico if it is not worth taking it to the United States or Canada?

Officially, foreign plated vehicles cannot be bought or sold in Mexico.

Would it be legal for an inmigrado to drive a US or Canadian plated vehicle if that person cannot afford to buy an equivalent Mexican car?

No.

Can the driver simply change the plates to Mexican plates?

A recent program that permits the "Mexicanization" of foreign-plated pick-up trucks more than ten years old expired in November, 2002. At that time Foreigners paid between $ 2,000 and $ 4,500 pesos. It is possible to get Mexican plates for a car of any age by paying the applicable import duties for the vehicle. However, the costs are very high and most people say it is not worth the expense.