Drivers Don't Cut You Off in Mexico!

When we first got here, my lovely bride panicked at least once, every time we drove anywhere. This is was especially true when we hit the glorietas aka roundbouts. Those wonderful circular intersections that have anywhere from 2 to 8 lanes and where cars zoom in across lanes and back out again, in what looks and sounds like a cacophony of chaos.

The navigation in the Tesla was sometimes accurate and at other times, seemed to think we could make a right turn, onto an overpass 20' above us. So until we got the lay of the land and knew our way around, driving was a team sport. Maria would tell or even yell (depending on how quickly I suddenly needed to turn) out directions and I would weave in and out of traffic, accordingly.

Of course, we often failed to hit the right exit because it's not like there were two streets that

crossed. Sometimes I would need to get in and out to the point our direct barely veered off a straight line. Other times, I could need to make almost a complete circle before exiting the glorieta - which is almost impossible to do, staying on the outside lane the entire time because everyone who needs to exit, will simply do so. So prior to entering the glorieta, Maria would say "Exit 3 o'clock" or "Exit seven o'clock!" and then just as I approached the appropriate exit, she's say "Here" and out we would go.

What I learned from the gloriettas was that although it FELT like people were constantly cutting each other off, no one was actually doing that at all. As I constantly said to my lovely bride when a Truck would cut across three lanes and maybe a speed bump divider, in front of us "He's just making it work." And that's what everyone here does. They just make it work! Every day now, I do what would be considered in Texas (where they might pull a gun on you for it!) what I used to call "Cutting someone off". And every time I enter a glorietta, I know someone from an inside lane is going to "cut me off". But they're not! They're just making it work!