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Loretana
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The Deeper Meaning of Mexico's Giant Speed Bumps
The Deeper Meaning of Mexico’s Giant Speed Bumps
“What in the World”
By DAMIEN CAVE
JUNE 15, 2016 The New York Times
The 229th time I scraped the bottom of our Volkswagen over a tope — Mexico’s brand of speed bump — I swore as though I’d just been rear-ended by a
truck.
There was no sign to warn of the giant mound of pavement, which meant that I hit the thing at full-on launch velocity. And its size practically
guaranteed damage: In my rearview mirror, I could see deep lines scraped by my car’s chassis and many others before me.
Must have just been poorly fashioned, you say? A mistake? If only.
There are thousands, maybe millions, of these misshapen risers on back roads and highways all over Mexico. The biggest of the bunch look like Fernando
Botero sculptures before he slimmed them down.
When I arrived in Mexico as a New York Times correspondent, I thought the topes were just infrequent oddities. But over time, layers of meaning
emerged, as they do with so many things in Mexico.
Topes (pronounced TOE-pace) are suspension-killing wonders that fill a void in law and order. In a country where impunity rules, topes are screams of
frustration.
They’re a means of enforcing speed control and civility on the road, and they can’t be avoided. They can’t be bribed to look the other way.
But topes also reflect the same failures that they aim to fix. There appear to be few rules governing what they look like or where they go. I’ve seen
makeshift topes materialize in upper-class neighborhoods from one day to the next, and I’ve seen topes that were built, I’m convinced, just to make
drivers slow down for vendors who sell candy and water.
Other topes seem to have been created more with vengeance in mind, which now makes me wonder: Was someone after a corrupt gang member or businessman
who sped by every morning? Or was the target really me — a foreigner from that country up north that never seems to give Mexico the respect it
deserves?
"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration."
-Nikola Tesla
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David K
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Good one!
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alacran
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The mechanics love them.
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AKgringo
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And then there are those vado's south of San Felipe....
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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StuckSucks
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I'm usually skeptical when the New York Times tells me about Baja or something in a remote US location, but that was spot-on!
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bajabuddha
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First, the author doesn't even pronounce TOPES correctly in the original quote, which shows me he knows as much about Spanish than he does Mexico in
general, especially after the first one he hit. ''Topes'' in Mexi-Spanish'' means one thing only..... SLOW THE flock DOWN!" and most have warning
signs that one is nigh, and if not they're painted with yellow... and if not, you shouldn't be going fast in that particular place in the first place.
Ain't a one of us who haven't banged a head or two from being 'asleep at the wheel', que no? Es verdad, Dad. Low-slung? Watch even more carefully,
and WALK your vehicle through VERY slowly, and on an angle; much less damage accrued.
Rally 'round the Flag, boys! American-ize Mexico! Ban all their cultures to emulate their affluent neighbors! Oh, and while we're at it, let us
make a buck or two off you in the meantime.
I think Damien Cave should spend more of his time in New Yuck writing for the Times... which by the way, isn't owned by Rupert Murdoch, is it?
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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mtgoat666
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Many countries have speed bumps. The author seems to have only ventured to Mexico, eh?
The USA could use more of them. I support vigilante construction of speed bumps in USA, as our elected officials refuse to slow or moderate insane
traffic, as evidenced by removal of red light cameras.
They removed the red light camera from the intersection near my home, every day I see someone run a red there. Someone will die, and the blame will
be on the politicians that caved to law breakers.
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Udo
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Great thread, but I think Loretta is a woman, not a man.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Loretana
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Udo, the article was written by New York Times correspondent Damien Cave, for his "What In the World" column....
Bajabuddha, I believe that the New York Times (or New Yuck as you call it) has been owned and controlled by the Sulzberger Family since
1896.....however, in 2015 Mexico's own Carlos Slim Helu became the top shareholder with 16.8% of NYT stock.....
"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration."
-Nikola Tesla
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bajabuddha
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Quote: Originally posted by Loretana  | Udo, the article was written by New York Times correspondent Damien Cave, for his "What In the World" column....
Bajabuddha, I believe that the New York Times (or New Yuck as you call it) has been owned and controlled by the Sulzberger Family since
1896.....however, in 2015 Mexico's own Carlos Slim Helu became the top shareholder with 16.8% of NYT stock..... |
Seriously and truly without malice, and being a Podunk westerner, who did Murdoch just buy out to be his mouthpiece? Please, I wanna know.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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vandenberg
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Topes maybe a necessary evil, but some are insanely build and seem to aim at damaging your vehicle.
We have some here in Nopolo that are totally unnecessary.
I drive a Camry and with 4 people in the vehicle can not cross some of them without bottoming out. Ridiculous!!
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ncampion
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Topes are only effective at reducing speed in the preceding 100 feet. A stupid idea at best, like most government policies.
[Edited on 6-16-2016 by ncampion]
Living Large in Loreto. Off-grid and happy.
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gsbotanico
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha | | First, the author doesn't even pronounce TOPES correctly in the original quote, which shows me he knows as much about Spanish than he does Mexico in
general, especially after the first one he hit. ''Topes'' in Mexi-Spanish'' means one thing only..... SLOW THE flock DOWN!" and most have warning
signs that one is nigh, and if not they're painted with yellow... and if not, you shouldn't be going fast in that particular place in the first place.
Ain't a one of us who haven't banged a head or two from being 'asleep at the wheel', que no? Es verdad, Dad. Low-slung? Watch even more carefully,
and WALK your vehicle through VERY slowly, and on an angle; much less damage accrued |
Toe-pace??? First thing I noticed too. How about toe-pess?
Many topes are signed, but some are not. Rural areas in central Mexico need to be navigated with caution. Topes can pop up in unexpected places.
No mention of vibradores. They can surprise too.
And I've encountered school-age youngsters with a rope across the road to stop drivers for "una cooperación" or "una colecta." Best to have small
change and pay the "toll" and proceed.
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AKgringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by ncampion | Topes are only effective at reducing speed in the preceding 100 feet. A stupid idea at best, like most government policies.
[Edited on 6-16-2016 by ncampion] |
Yeah, what he said, and they raise hell with the snowplows too!
What's that....not a problem in Baja? Never mind!
Edit; I really don't have any problem with well marked topes, designed to 'slow' vehicles, not 'break' them. I was just going for low hanging humor!
They use speed bumps in a few places here in Anchorage, and they do raise hell with snowplows.
[Edited on 6-16-2016 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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bajabuddha
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I'm all for topes when they're the wider, rollier kinds rather than the short-steep ones. The 'vibradores' are the ones that shake me to pieces
usually; they wreak havoc on spine and trailer.
They're using topes (TO-pes) in Albuquerque and other towns in New Mexico now; ''SLOW" signs here are like stop signs in Mexico. Over the years each
municipality I've noticed is going for the longer-lower ones; the short steep ones you deal with; key is ANGLING, but you'll still scrape. It just
lessens the double bounce of head-on crossing, and the Mofle shops love you anyway. That's BAJA! eee-Jhaaa!! *bump-scrape-bump*
side note; several years back a friend was towing his boat down to La Perla to meet me; had a few too many hours on the road and hit the east and last
tope of San Ignatz doing .......ermmmmmm a little to fast speed; hit the bump so hard it rang his belt on the cab roof, and the boat? Hooo boy; had
to buy a new battery, and have help re-cradling it.
THEY WORK.
[Edited on 6-16-2016 by bajabuddha]
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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durrelllrobert
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| Quote: Originally posted by ncampion | Topes are only effective at reducing speed in the preceding 100 feet. A stupid idea at best, like most government policies.
[Edited on 6-16-2016 by ncampion] |
100 feet is much better than the zero feet you frequently see when drivers just run through stop signs like the are not even there.
Bob Durrell
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UnoMas
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Does not everyone just use them as a good time to pass commercial trucks and worker buses. I have been passed by the locals many times between Topes.
 Safty at it best
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gsbotanico
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No English "z" sound in Spanish. It's always the sound of "s" in "press" and never the sound in "prez." It's one of the keys of getting a heavy
English accent out of one's Spanish accent. Plus the final consonant shortens the vowel sound, so it isn't "ace," but "ess." Try it in words like
Lopez and Perez. These surnames are sometimes seen spelled with an "s" instead of a "z." For Mexican Spanish speakers the sound of the two letters
is the same, as is the letter "c" followed by an "e" or "i."
Of course, if you learned Spanish in Spain, the "z" takes the "th" sound. Take your cues from native speakers.
Sorry for being so pedantic.
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StuckSucks
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| Quote: Originally posted by gsbotanico |
No English "z" sound in Spanish. It's always the sound of "s" in "press" and never the sound in "prez." It's one of the keys of getting a heavy
English accent out of one's Spanish accent. Plus the final consonant shortens the vowel sound, so it isn't "ace," but "ess." Try it in words like
Lopez and Perez. These surnames are sometimes seen spelled with an "s" instead of a "z." For Mexican Spanish speakers the sound of the two letters
is the same, as is the letter "c" followed by an "e" or "i."
Of course, if you learned Spanish in Spain, the "z" takes the "th" sound. Take your cues from native speakers.
Sorry for being so pedantic. |
Thanks for helping to connect some of my non-Spanish-speaking dots. Much appreciated!
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ncampion
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The kind I really hate are the round metal ones that they stick to the pavement. They are really steep and even when just rolled over they jar the
suspension.
Living Large in Loreto. Off-grid and happy.
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