Road etiquette

During my first month in Mexico, I made an interesting realisation. Fellow travellers would have noticed that every country (indeed city) has a distinct driving style that offers some insight into its inhabitants. I hasten to add that due to their 'unique' mental and personality patterns, taxi and bus drivers must be exempt from this generalisation. Without doubt they provide ample proof that not all of the society's dangerously insane are safe within padded cells. More on this later on.

Civilised (yes, you see how I cleverly eliminated the French and Italians) europeans use the the horn only in the most dire of emergencies and consider its use for such trivialities as telling that ingrate to get out of your way not just a form of road rage but almost as demeaning as wearing speedos in public. In other parts of the world, the language of the horn is almost a national dialect. What I observed in Mexico is the horn's use as a form of flattery.

Attractive female (think Jessica Alba) walking down the street; what does the male driver do? Honk. Pan to hot male (okay okay, me) sauntering along; female driver does what? Honks! This is what ups the ante over here. Male and female drivers using the same signals to convey admiration gives it the legitimacy of a true language. Whats more, the reactions of the pedestrians here are similarly different from elsewhere. Try this in London and you get that favourite digit waved in your face. Over here, you get a look and a smile and sometimes even a wave

So what does this tell us about societal differencies and the underlying cultural forces, thats for you to mull on. For my part i just wanted to waste another five minutes of your time.

Have a good one.