# Safe driving routes in NE Mexico?



## lichen (Dec 8, 2010)

Hey all.
I and my girlfriend and our dogs are planning to soon drive from McAllen to Xalapa, Veracruz. We have done this drive many time back and forth, always enjoying it very much.. But we are hearing rumors of roaming cars blocking the roads in tamaulipas asking for money (at best) and/or stealing cars and leaving folks on the side of the road? Is this true?!?!?! If so, any recommendations for an alternate, hopefully safer route? Its out of the way a bit, but we were considering sticking to cuotas from reynosa to monterey and then going from monterey to san luis potosi.. From there up and over to the Gulf coast... Any reports and/or suggestions most appreciated.. Thanks!


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## kazslo (Jun 7, 2010)

lichen said:


> Hey all.
> I and my girlfriend and our dogs are planning to soon drive from McAllen to Xalapa, Veracruz. We have done this drive many time back and forth, always enjoying it very much.. But we are hearing rumors of roaming cars blocking the roads in tamaulipas asking for money (at best) and/or stealing cars and leaving folks on the side of the road? Is this true?!?!?! If so, any recommendations for an alternate, hopefully safer route? Its out of the way a bit, but we were considering sticking to cuotas from reynosa to monterey and then going from monterey to san luis potosi.. From there up and over to the Gulf coast... Any reports and/or suggestions most appreciated.. Thanks!


Thanks to my gps 6 months ago, I drove from brownsville to xalapa using only side roads, never paid a toll. Never ran into any problems, and there were at least a few military checks along the way (in addition I was driving overnight). My next trip around I am planning on using a app off the paisano page:

Rutas Punto a Punto

Just enter your entry city and destination, and it will send you on your way on the nice federal highways, calculate how much you'll pay in tolls, and even show an estimate on gas cost. Their route from the mcallen bridge shows a roughly 12 hour trip and $110 tolls.

I'm sure these roadside holdups do happen, but I doubt they are that frequent. The best thing to do is keep on driving and dont stop for anyone on the road.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

Everything is fine and dandy as long as it is fine and dandy.

Car jackings are not only frequent, they are pandemic. Mexican auto insurers have tightened up policies, raising theft deductibles from 10% to 20%, excluding coverage due to organized crime violence (which accounts for over 90% of crime), and denying claims where you surrendered your vehicle voluntarily (I guess you're expected to resist men armed with automatic weapons?). The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) says car robberies are up over 100% so far this year.
Endurecen aseguradoras cláusulas por violencia

It's bad enough that the State Dept. has forbidden it's members and their families from driving across the border to interior parts of Mexico.
Mexico

The Tamaulipas Attorney General website shows over 7000 car robberies this year.
Estadistica 1

Oh, and if a couple of men point AK-47's at you and tell you to stop and get out, I highly suggest you do NOT "keep on driving". Unless you think maybe they are bluffing and don't really have the stomach for such violence.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Reefhound,
Have you visited Mexico from Houston, along that route, lately?


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## patrock82 (Aug 4, 2010)

*Avoid Tamaulipas*

I would avoid Tamaulipas and even Nuevo Leon if at all possible and come in through Coahuila at Eagles Pass or del Rio. I work for a large petroleum company with operations in NE Mexico and the situation is bad. 95% of the carjackings, kidnappings, robberies and gun battles between the cartels and the military are never reported. The violence is continuous in some areas (Reynosa in particular)and travel between Reynosa and Monterrey is much riskier than most people realize. The toll roads are faster and safer. Come down Hwy 57 to just past Queretaro, cut over to Pachuca and work your way east to Xalapa. Avoid driving foreign plated cars in Mexico City unless you plan to pay the traffic cops regularly.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> Reefhound,
> Have you visited Mexico from Houston, along that route, lately?


I drove it last March, spent the night in Cd Victoria, crossed at Los Indios. Why?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I'm curious to hear from anyone who has experienced any incidents on the far eastern routes in Tamaulipas. We've had several friends drive down via Laredo, Monterrey, Saltillo, San Luis Potosi, etc. to Guadalajara and Chapala this fall and winter. All reported perfectly normal trips; no incidents at all. More are coming down in January. Three of them have either purchased homes or rented permanent places, and will be making another trip or two while re-locating. In our travels, locally and to the coast and back, all seems quite normal.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

patrock82 said:


> I would avoid Tamaulipas and even Nuevo Leon if at all possible and come in through Coahuila at Eagles Pass or del Rio. I work for a large petroleum company with operations in NE Mexico and the situation is bad. 95% of the carjackings, kidnappings, robberies and gun battles between the cartels and the military are never reported. The violence is continuous in some areas (Reynosa in particular)and travel between Reynosa and Monterrey is much riskier than most people realize. The toll roads are faster and safer. Come down Hwy 57 to just past Queretaro, cut over to Pachuca and work your way east to Xalapa. Avoid driving foreign plated cars in Mexico City unless you plan to pay the traffic cops regularly.



Good point about the Mexican tendency to not report stuff. So as bad as the statistics are that i referenced, they are only the tip of the iceberg.

The best way to Pachuca and Xalapa is a bit further down 57 at Jilopetec - the new Puebla cuota (Mapa Arco Norte) that is high speed four lane divided highway that bypasses D.F.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> I'm curious to hear from anyone who has experienced any incidents on the far eastern routes in Tamaulipas. We've had several friends drive down via Laredo, Monterrey, Saltillo, San Luis Potosi, etc. to Guadalajara and Chapala this fall and winter. All reported perfectly normal trips; no incidents at all. More are coming down in January. Three of them have either purchased homes or rented permanent places, and will be making another trip or two while re-locating. In our travels, locally and to the coast and back, all seems quite normal.


Well I could post photos taken from my van where the Mexican military suddenly deployed around us in a parking lot, guns raised to fire at some unknown target. About twelve of them including an armored vehicle with mounted gun. I had my wife and kids lying on the floor of the van for several minutes, waiting to hear shots. Never heard any and they never relaxed, after ten minutes I concluded that I wanted to be gone before whatever they were waiting for arrived. 

I'm not saying that certain death awaits if you step foot in Tamaulipas. Not at all. The odds are on your side. A thousand people probably pass down 180 every day and if ten people were shot and killed every day, the odds would still be 100 to 1 in your favor. You like those odds? How do they compare with other places?

Heck, every Friday night a lot of people drive home from the bar dog drunk and wake up next morning safe and warm in their bed. Would hearing about these anecdotal stories convince you that drunk driving is perfectly safe regardless of statistics showing over 50% of all traffic fatalities involve alcohol? 

The statistics are there, the numerous reports are there, the fact that many made the trip uneventfully does not change that. If anyone wants to take the risk, go for it. I might even go that way myself next year. But nobody should be deluded about the risk and be telling others it is perfectly safe.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

I have had 9 RVers in the last 30 days who entered at Brownsville or the Los Indios crossing, many stayed in Cuidad Victoria or the outskirts of Tampico. None had any problems, none saw any problems. The transitos have always been a problem in Altamira and Tampico but the last couple RVs said they only checked paperwork and asked for money for a refresco.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

We are presently in Harlingen Tx and will cross the border at Los Indios in the morning. If everything goes well, we will be in Mineral de Pozos tomorrow night traveling via Valle Hermosa, Ciudad Victoria and San Luis Potosi. Never had a problem but manager of our favorite Mexican Restaurant in Harlingen, he's from Matamoros, said to be extra careful as things have gotten especially dangerous.
I'll give you' all update on arrival, hopefully!


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

Trip from the border went smoothly. I talked with a few guards at the border and they thought the route was good. Just enough checkpoints to control flow. Good news is that there is now a cuota extension to hwy 101 that reduces the trip to San Luis Potosi by about 1/2 hour. Trip Los Indios to San Luis Potosi now only 6.5 hours.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

Good to hear. Where exactly is this cuota extension on 101? At the end near Cd Victoria or near Tula? When was the last time you had previously driven this route? Earlier this year we drove 101 and didn't see any signs of road construction. Via Corta near Cd Victoria is new road that bypasses the old mountain route but was not a cuota. Where 101 ends at 80, there was construction going east to Cd Maiz.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

Like you I suppose, I had thought that the construction where 101 ended at 80/Cd Maiz was just an intersection. When we drove north in September and I made the turn north from 80 onto 101, I did see that it looked like a new road. On return, it is labeled 57 cuota to San Luis Potosi and goes some 40+ km where it connects to the Rio Verde cuota to 57 which is only 30km vs 50km on hwy 80 and a much better road. For two tolls of 68p total we had a much easier and quicker return. We "rubber necked" and saw a new sign going north on 57 that said cuota to Cd. Victoria about the 65km marker north of San Luis Potosi so we have a marker on our next trip north.


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## ReefHound (Aug 9, 2010)

Ok so you mean 101 has been extended to intersect with the Rio Verde cuota? I'm guessing near Cerritos? If so, that is great news for me. I like to take friends to Rio Verde for diving and the best route has been through Laredo down 57 and the Rio Verde cuota. Crossing at Brownsville and going through Cd Victoria has certain attractions (we also dive at South Padre) but the backtracking has been a deterrent.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

You are basically right on all counts. It is extension to 101 even though labeled 57. It does intersect near Cerritos where you have decision to take libramiento or cuota. We took cuota toward San Luis Potosi but I believe that also option to head east toward Rio Verde.
We had friends that drove the same route yesterday with no issue.
You are right about probabilities but after hearing the Brownsville evening news about all the shootings and murders in lower Rio Grand valley on the US side we were motivated to cross into Mexico.


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