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Article #15 ROAD/INSURANCE ISSUES - What About Them?

by Jim Jaillet - Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved

In Article #1, CENTRAL AMERICA: You Can Do It!, we discussed the
importance of planning. This aspect of planning will help you know what
to expect about ROAD/INSURANCE PROBLEMS!

Roads in Mexico and Central America range from excellent to terrible.
Rare stretches of newly paved roads exist, but, for the most part, the
vast majority of the roads fall into the general classifications of bad
to terrible.

Let's consider the reasons. During my 343 day trip, my travel companions
and I discussed the poor road conditions. We concluded the reasons
two-fold: thin base preparation and very thin road surfaces. The
combination of the two factors results with the roads not being able to
withstand the weather elements as well as the weight elements of the
very heavy trucks and busses ubiquitous in all of these countries. The
results: millions of potholes and missing pieces of roadway. We
estimated that our speed probably averaged 25 miles per hour on the
total trip due to the overall bad road conditions. Many, many times we
drove at less than 10 miles per hour.

In addition to these conditions, most roadways are very narrow and lack
shoulders on the sides of the roads. In Article #2, I discussed how FAST
everyone drives and how they totally ignore the lines on the roads as
well as the road signs. Put all these factors together and terror
describes the feeling whenever you see an 18-wheeler or bus coming at
you from the opposite direction!

THREE VERY IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS to consider:

* If you see no oncoming traffic, drive down the center of the road
straddling the center line. Definitely much less stressful than trying
to stay within the lane markings of the very narrow roadways full of
potholes and with no shoulders. You need not worry about the police
catching you, because there are none!

* Stay in the center of the roadway, even when you see oncoming traffic,
until the last moment. The benefit derived from this "chicken game"
activity? It forces the oncoming traffic to reduce their speed. If I
feel the slightest bit of discomfort about a situation relative to
oncoming traffic, I come to a complete stop until the oncoming vehicle
has passed by my rig! Like the old saying says, "better safe than
sorry!"

* Never drive at night! In addition to the terrible road surfaces, you
may encounter very large animals laying in the roadway plus very
slow-moving vehicles with absolutely no lights! You must maintain total
concentration on your driving, especially if you are the lead rig.
Between watching for speeding traffic, potholes, unmarked TOPES
(tow-pays) (speed-bumps) , missing pieces of roadway, very slow moving
traffic, animals on the roadway, pedestrians walking alongside the road,
very poor to non-existent signs, and police/military checkpoints, you
will experience both physical and mental exhaustion! Very different than
driving in the United States.

With regards to vehicle insurance, that becomes a total judgment call on
your part. We could only identify one insurance company, AIG located in
the State of Delaware, that offered insurance which they said covered
all the countries on our trip agenda. We thought it very expensive. Some
of the countries refused to recognize it and those who did buy it were
required to buy additional insurance in spite of their coverage.

Whenever a country required insurance, we bought it at the border and
bought only the minimum required liability insurance. If a country did
not require insurance, we bought none. We reasoned that we drove so
slowly hitting anyone became highly unlikely; plus, none of the locals
carried insurance unless required.

It may trouble you to drive without insurance, it troubled us not at
all.

Finally, both maps and signs in Mexico and Central America leave a lot
to be desired . We got lost and went the wrong way a number of times.
When asking directions, you need to know that most locals will give you
faulty directions rather than admit they do not know the answer to the
question. All part of the countless cultural experiences!

Don't miss the next installment. .."BORDER CROSSING/LANGUAGE ISSUES -
What About Them?" in which I'll discuss the considerations for border
crossing and language problems. Stay tuned and remember my promise at
the beginning of Article #1................................. YOU CAN DO!

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Jim Jaillet is a full-time RVer, Adventurer and Author of PANAMA OR BUST - A 343
day adventure in a motorhome!

You can claim your copy of my book for only $19.95 at www.panamaorbust.com

I'd love to hear what you thought of this Article #15, ROAD/INSURANCE ISSUES,
What about them? Please send your comments, questions, and ideas for upcoming articles
to me at jimj@panamaorbust.com

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Disclaimer: The author in no way can guarantee your safety in Central America. After all
they are Third World countries and not without danger or the possibility of death. You go
at your own risk. The author is only suggesting that with some planning, common sense and
caution you may minimize your potential dangers and be rewarded with countless cultural
experiences. :)