BajaNomad - common sense for driving down baja

common sense for driving down baja

DrTom - 11-20-2007 at 08:18 AM

ok, with all the nitetime incidents in TJ crossing etc, you always hear about using baja "common sense". For those of us that dont have a lot of experience driving baja, would those of you with useful advice post on this "common sense" thread. Like first: only cross during daylight, cross at tecate, etc. I know bits and pieces are throughout the site, but lets try this ok? I try to answer peoples animal questions which a lot seems common sense to me but thats because im familiar with it. thanks in advance
DrTom

Sunman - 11-20-2007 at 08:30 AM

Don't blindly trust the guy in front of you signaling it is safe to pass. Use that as a signal to carefully move over and take a look for yourself. Use your own judgement.

Bruce R Leech - 11-20-2007 at 08:36 AM

be friendly and courteous to everyone but don't trust anyone.

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 08:39 AM

Buy lots of insurance and don't trust anybody, even God.

Bruce R Leech - 11-20-2007 at 08:41 AM

the friendlier they are the more they are going to rip you off.

gnukid - 11-20-2007 at 08:54 AM

Don't bring anything and drive a crappy car and make sure its dirty and you look dirty and you wont lose anything.

Generally get in the flow with other cars and don't drive too slowly. Get into a group right away on the toll roads and whatever they do, yuo do. Cars in mexico move like sprockets on a wheel and they fit together, if you go too slow you will get picked off or hit by accident. At stop signs, do a hollywood stop and keep going or you will cause an accident.

On the toll road people drive fast, it works because the bad guys can't move quick enough to catch you. And the real police are ordered to stand down and not ticket the private toll road. There should be no real police only bandits. Do not stop on the toll road for cops, just don't do it, not right now. Keep going with flow or faster and don't let them pass you.

In pueblos, if a pedestrian cop whistles at you to stop, dont stop. If a cop waves you over, ignore them. If you get pulled over by real policia or federales be polite and do what they say.

If someone accosts you and claims you hit their car or did something or they need help, do not repsond, just keep looking forward and keep moving.

Bajaboy - 11-20-2007 at 09:07 AM

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Zac

The Sculpin - 11-20-2007 at 09:52 AM

Don't put your cash in your wallet - put it somewhere else. If you're ever pulled over, be very friendly but act real stoopid - do not speak spanish - only english (except for below) - have the officer repeat everything - repeatedly show him your empty wallet - be patient. Naturally, if the stop is legitimate, get the ticket and pay the damn fine.
Do not under any circumstance keep your rig in a neat and tidy order. Keep it real messy and cluttered. The boys at the checkpoint will lose patience very quickly.
Don't shave - you're on vacation
Don't shower - see above
Don't feed the dog for at least 2 days before starting the road trip. At the checkpoints, or when being pulled over keep repeating "malo, malo, malo". They'll understand.
Whistle alot and keep a stupid grin on your face- they'll think you're crazy.
Enjoy!

bajaguy - 11-20-2007 at 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Sculpin
Don't put your cash in your wallet - put it somewhere else

.......

.....Including your credit cards.

Have an "extra" credit/ATM card and
make color copies of your drivers license, passport info page, SENTRI card, FM-2/3 info page and vehicle registration/insurance including Mexican insurance in a secure/secondary location. If you can keep it on your person, so much the better.

Get a "throw away" wallet and put about $40 in small bills in it, and keep a color copy of your drivers license along with a copy of vehicle registration/insurance Mexican insurance in it. Only dispaly and/or give up the throw away wallet.

Hook - 11-20-2007 at 11:21 AM

Common sense tells ME it's time for a large scale boycott. I had already unofficially begun one when I stopped going to La Salina and Ensenada over a year ago. I used to make 4-6 trips a year. No mas!

Yes, I know how much anguish a large scale one will cause persons who have invested in Baja and the locals who work in Baja. There is collateral damage, in any conflict, that is unavoidable.

But it's time to use the only tool available to us. We cant fight fire with fire. Not when the druggies and the cops are aligned against us, to some degree.

When thugs can pull off a kidnapping in broad daylight at a restaurant in P.N., then the idea of simply not driving at night is not enough.

Spare me the "comparisons" to inner cities in the US. I dont go there, either.

Mine officially starts today.

And I am rethinking the size of my investment in the mainland, too.

Paulina - 11-20-2007 at 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaguy

Quote:

Originally posted by The Sculpin
Don't put your cash in your wallet - put it somewhere else

Your mention of having a "throw away" wallet, or a Mexico wallet reminded me of when I used to wear a "Mexico wedding ring". I would leave my real one at home and wear a Kmart fakey special.

P.

Skipjack Joe - 11-20-2007 at 11:29 AM

I think the suggestion/offer Diver made on the other thread was a good one:

If possible try to join a group of cars and travel through this area as a caravan.

I would think that's 100% safe. Very inconvenient but very safe. May seem drastic but it maybe smart for all nomads to post their planned departure dates on the board and offer others to hook up for the 60 miles or so from the border to Maneandero. Much as Diver has done. If we all did that we could stand to benefit greatly.

Woooosh - 11-20-2007 at 12:00 PM

Good thread!

How about we organize a real protest and blockade the US side of the San Ysidro border crossing and shut down sotuhbound traffic into Mexico for a few hours! Let FOX news and others when it will happen, why it will happen and how frustrated we Americans are that our safety and security concerns are being ignored.

I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you will NEVER NEVER see a news story in the USA (or Mexico) about what has been posted here- specifically the horrible family carjacking last weekend. It just won't happen. We need to act before we are all victims at some level, or even worse dead. If we don't act- we're just allowing more American sheep to be slaughtered here- becuase they aren't getting the word and no one is safe from being a victim.

And enough of this "if you stay dirty. dress and drive like trailer trash you will be safe". I didn't move to baja to be a lesser person in any way. Having a second wallet/ATM card won't do you any good when they have you with them and a gun to your wife's side in the car. They don't just take your wallet and your word that the PIN is correct. That's just stupid. Techniques like that worked in the old days when an "honest" cop just wanted a quick $20 bribe- but the current security situation is nothing like that.

Drive in the daytime, don't stop for anyone in a remote area andyou shouldn't come down here at all if you aren't willing to physically defend your family and posessions.

pappy - 11-20-2007 at 12:03 PM

i wear a small fanny pack in which i keep a few pesos, and $20 us, my license and passport. (each in a seperat zip-up compartment). i wear my shirts untucked so it completely conceals the fanny pack. i leave an old wallet with fake stuff and a couple of dollars in it in the truck.

Barry A. - 11-20-2007 at 12:05 PM

"I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you will NEVER NEVER see a news story in the USA (or Mexico) about what has been posted here- specifically the horrible family carjacking last weekend. It just won't happen."

As stated elsewhere on this board-----CNN and the LA Times HAVE picked up on this problem, and ARE giving it some attention------and now the Ventura paper, too, I believe someone said------

We have to keep hammering away.

The Sculpin - 11-20-2007 at 12:05 PM

WTF?!?!?!?!?!
That's the way I am EVERYDAY!
Who the hell are you to insult me and the way I dress? You thought I was being funny!?!?
Oh yea, I forgot the most important tip.....don't camp near any gringos...they always want to share a beer with you and then end up peeing in your damn fire..... :fire:

dccf - 11-20-2007 at 12:10 PM

I posted on "the other RV" forum" this morning about all that has been posted here and they called me a "troll" and ran me off the forum.

They have their heads in the sand and refuse to even consider they could end up as victims. As long as we continue to supply the sheep to shear this problem will never be solved.

[Edited on 11-20-2007 by dccf]

Skipjack Joe - 11-20-2007 at 12:33 PM

Excellent Woosh.

A lot of Mexicans commute from TJ to their US jobs daily. The howl that would go up would be tremendous. That's a real attention getter.

But who could organize such a thing? Perhaps Baja Discover Club. Perhaps the Vagabundos. Their members could certainly be called on to participate. I would take a day off from work to drive down from the Bay Area to support this.

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 01:33 PM

This is amazing. Sit back and make a list of the precautions mentioned on this thread, most very good although I think Sculpin should use some deoderant, the kind that doesn't make you smell rich. [ just kiddin' Sculpin ]
Go back twenty years in your memory and try to imagine whether you would have made the trip if these considerations were necessary. probably not.

Packoderm - 11-20-2007 at 02:11 PM

Buy $500.00 U.S. in traveler's checks and keep it in your throw away wallet. That is a believable amount of funds to make the decoy wallet look real, so they don't press for more if you get hit up.

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh

How about we organize a real protest and blockade the US side of the San Ysidro border crossing and shut down sotuhbound traffic into Mexico for a few hours! Let FOX news and others when it will happen, why it will happen and how frustrated we Americans are that our safety and security concerns are being ignored.

Probably because we would be incarcerated and the real issue would be lost because we're just a bunch of social terrorists who disobey the law. It feels good to think about that scenario though, that many Americans would be willing to stand up for each other without being drafted to do it.
There are so many things that could be done. We just have to agree on what and FOLLOW THROUGH.
Also, people on the north side of the border have more latitude for civil disobedience than we below the border have.
My thoughts toward effective reasoning are to deal a blow to the collective wallet. I hope somewhere here, the back-room wheels of the imagination are turning to come up with a viable suggestion.

Keep moving

Lee - 11-20-2007 at 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gnukid
On the toll road people drive fast, it works because the bad guys can't move quick enough to catch you. And the real police are ordered to stand down and not ticket the private toll road. There should be no real police only bandits. Do not stop on the toll road for cops, just don't do it, not right now. Keep going with flow or faster and don't let them pass you.

In pueblos, if a pedestrian cop whistles at you to stop, dont stop. If a cop waves you over, ignore them. If you get pulled over by real policia or federales be polite and do what they say.

This is good. I don't cross before 7am and don't plan on stopping on the toll road either. They'll have to catch me or run me off the road. Convoy is good.

I have a throw-away wallet too with a throw-away license. Still, I've only been asked for my license once, in Ensenada, and I gave the cop a photo copy of the license and when he said ''this is a copy,'' I said ''yes it is."

Carry a knife.

DrTom - 11-20-2007 at 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Quote:

How bout a flare gun or spear gun? :spingrin:

805gregg - 11-20-2007 at 03:37 PM

I've already changed my vacation plans. My wife and I spent 3 weeks and alot of pesos in baja this summer. We were going to take our boat and explore by Sea of Cortez next summer we've decided to vacation state side next year.

The Sculpin - 11-20-2007 at 04:44 PM

DrTom, keep in mind that weoponry is alot like 4 wheel drive. It's designed to get you out of trouble, not into it. That said, unless you are expert in the use of a spear gun or flare gun, I would probably devise another plan. You may be more of a man than I, but I sure have trouble concealing a spear gun in my pocket! I usually have a baseball bat handy, and one of those "club" devices that attach to your steering wheel. I have never used either one. I thought of having mace or pepper spray, but I'd just end up spraying myself. Sometimes I carry one of those air horns. Let one of those baby's rip and you have everyone's attention! However, it gets used for practical jokes more than anything else. Pretty hilarious. Based on your responses, you're not scaring easy. I commend you on your spirit of adventure. Keep eyes peeled, and stay safe. Besides, Baja is still way safer than Africa, the Maldives, Indonesia and Sumatra.

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Carry a knife.

And have the balls to use it.

Hook - 11-20-2007 at 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Carry a knife.

And have the balls to use it.

Against ballistic weapons?

Better have more brains than more balls.

Stickers - 11-20-2007 at 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee

Carry a knife.

And have the balls to use it.

Not a good idea since every incident has involved automatic weapons with crazy b...tards toting them. I have no doubt that they would waste you in a second as they do the local and state police.

.

DENNIS - 11-20-2007 at 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stickers
I have no doubt that they would waste you in a second as they do the local and state police..

And you would do what? Stand there and let them do it?

805gregg - 11-20-2007 at 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajaboy
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Zac

Would a video of the poor womens rape change your mind? Get your head out of the sand.

Terry28 - 11-20-2007 at 10:55 PM

I know the folks this happened to...it's no B.S.

Stickers - 11-20-2007 at 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Stickers
I have no doubt that they would waste you in a second as they do the local and state police..

And you would do what? Stand there and let them do it?

I wouldn't stand there if I had 4 carloads of heavily armed guys with me or a commando team. If I didn't I would give them my money and my Toyota and go home and have a drink.
Alternative? My brains blown out?
Make your own choice.

(I don't take my wife to Baja)

[Edited on 11-21-2007 by Stickers]

Al G - 11-20-2007 at 11:45 PM

Damn...it is easy to read the cowards and the heroes in this post...
edit: I should not have said cowards...maybe realist...what do you think???

[Edited on 11-21-2007 by Al G]

Bajaboy - 11-21-2007 at 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 805gregg

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajaboy
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Zac

Would a video of the poor womens rape change your mind? Get your head out of the sand.

I never said I doubted anyone's story. But I do stand by my advice.

Zac

I'd look at Vivaloha's comments.

Marmeon - 11-22-2007 at 11:11 AM

He posted about Baja surfing on 11/19/07. That has what I consider to be the best summary of common sense driving (or doing anything else in Baja for that matter) I've seen. Go in the daytime. Stop in downtown Ensenada to change money. But otherwise don't stop for any reason until you get to San Quintin. Bad s&%t happens, no doubt. Everywhere, on occasion. Baja is no different. But if you aren't stupid and arrogant, I don't think the risk is anymore there than home if you are south of the high-volume- stupid-arrogant-and-drunk-American-tourist zone.

gnukid - 11-22-2007 at 11:20 AM

Marmeon and all

Its time to get real and stop trying to blame problems on the victim. Meth addicts will steal from their brother, they will steal garbage, they are insane and they behaviour is not based on a response to you, your style or your actions. If they freak out on drugs and want more which happens all day every day they will look for something to steal and it just goes on from there.

Baja is full of meth criminals and nothing short of beating them off 24/7 will stop them. So start beating them up, bring dogs, bring anything, I think an old thule or yakima bar is the best weapon, traditional samurai techniques have come back into popularity.

[Edited on 11-22-2007 by gnukid]

Packoderm - 11-22-2007 at 11:26 AM

I hope you mean we should beat them up - not beat them off.

Paulina - 11-22-2007 at 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Packoderm
I hope you mean we should beat them up - not beat them off.

Oh my! TMI, plus an ugly visual.

Marmeon, it's probably best one exchanges dollars for pesos while still in the U.S. and skip the down town Ensenada money exchange part of the trip.

P<*)))><

[Edited on 22-11-2007 by Paulina]