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We see numerous posts and inquiries on the forum concerning driving in and around Playa del Carmen. It may be beneficial to provide some background on the kinds of rules and common practices most Playa drivers observe. Hopefully, this information will give you some idea of what to expect as you make your way around the area.

Playa del Carmen Driving Rules

If, at any time, you have witnessed a green light, it is okay to proceed through the intersection, regardless of the current colour of the light.

A shoulder becomes a lane if you are driving a rental vehicle.

If you paid more than $60,000 for your car, you automatically have the right of way, regardless of the situation. This is especially applicable in parking lots.

Get to know your horn. Use it as often as possible.

Drive as quickly as possible through parking structures. Pass any open spot by at least four car lengths before backing up to claim it. Disregard the angry mob that has formed behind you.

While driving on Hwy 307 and talking on your cel phone, alternate your speed between 45 and 100 MPH. This is especially effective if driving in the fast lane.

Always adjust your car alarm to its most sensitive setting before leaving your vehicle parked on the street.

During rush hour, drivers should pass the time by reading L. Ron Hubbard, and practice inner peace when cut off by a taxi cab.

If you miss your exit, no worries. Just cut across all lanes of traffic and drive over the divider. If you really weren’t supposed to cross it, they would make it a concrete barrier, rather than just flowers.

Every lane is the suicide lane.

For parking lot purposes, all SUV’s are compact cars. Honest!

To calculate the proper speed limit on a major road, subtract your age from 100. Double this number if your car has dual exhausts. Conversely, add your age to 100 if you are driving on Hwy 307, or if you are suffering from a mid-life crisis.

If you hear sirens, DO NOT pull over. Slow down right where you are and start looking for carnage.

Totally disregard on-coming traffic.
If there are already three cars stopped at a four-way stop, accelerate immediately. Otherwise, one of these cars might go ahead of you.

Rush hour at the Hwy 307 and Constituyentes intersection is from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM, except around tourist season, when rush hour extends to 3:00 AM.

Take full advantage of your right to do U-turns. Laugh aloud at drivers from other countries who turn around in driveways or side streets.

In case of rain, immediately pull over. You cannot drive in any sort of precipitation.

While driving uphill, do not downshift. When driving downhill, ride your brakes.

When on a one-way street, stay to the right to allow oncoming traffic to pass.

Never, ever, stop for a pedestrian unless they actually throw themselves under the wheels of your vehicle.

The first parking spot you see will be the last parking spot you see. Grab it!

Never get in the way of a vehicle that already needs extensive body work.

Always look both ways when running a red light.

Never use directional signals when changing lanes. They will only encourage other drivers to speed up and not let you in.

Making eye contact revokes your right-of–way.

Whenever practical, stop in the middle of a crosswalk to insure inconveniencing as many pedestrians as possible. If a pedestrian ahead of you steps into the road, speed up, honk, or yell loudly, chasing them in panicked flight back to the curb. Pedestrians have no rights.

Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane change is considered “going with the flow.”

A right lane construction closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line by passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.

Turn signals are a clue as to your next move. A real Playa driver never uses them.

Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of being hit.

Braking is to be done as hard and as late as possible to insure that your ABS kicks in giving you a nice soothing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those vehicles without ABS, it’s a chance to stretch your legs.

Construction signs tell you about road closures immediately after you pass the last exit before the traffic goes into total gridlock.

Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It’s a good way to find out how many vehicles are on the shoulder.

Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions, and apparently unenforceable in the Playa del Carmen area.

Just because you’re in the appropriate lane, and have no room to speed up or move over, doesn’t mean that a Playa driver, flashing his high beams behind you, doesn’t think he can go faster where he in your spot.

Remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut during rush hour traffic in Playa del Carmen.

Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even somebody changing a tire.

Throwing litter on the roadside adds variety to the landscape, keeps the existing litter from getting lonely, and provides work for the Adopt-A-Highway groups.

Everybody thinks their vehicle is better than yours (especially pickup truck drivers with stickers in their rear windows showing Calvin peeing on Ford, Dodge, or Chevy logos)

Remember that it is the goal of every Play driver to get there first, by whatever means necessary.

Learn to swerve abruptly. Playa del Carmen is the home of high speed slalom driving, thanks to QRDOT (Quintana Roo Department of Transportation), which places potholes in key locations to test driver’s vision and reflexes.

It is traditional in Playa del Carmen to honk your horn at cars that don’t move the instant a light changes.

Never take a green light at face value. Always look left and right before proceeding.

Gale force winds, torrential downpours, fog, or hurricanes are not considered valid reasons to alter any of the previously listed rules. These weather conditions are God’s way of insuring the natural selection process for body shops, junk yards, emergency medical facilities, and new vehicle sales