Turning left from Carretera down Colon - legal or illegal?

When heading west along the carretera into Ajijic a traffic sign sign clearly says (or does it?), "no left turn" down Colon towards the lake and yet I occasionally see drivers make that left turn, often in heavy traffic!  They do it by driving along the right-hand hard shoulder and turning left in front of the carretera traffic stopped by a red light.

This has caused me a couple of near misses as I drive down Colon from the mountain side, I approach the carretera, the traffic light is on green, I continue on across the carretera looking for cyclists and pedestrians crossing when suddenly a vehicle speeds through a red light from my left and takes off down colon.

I know in Mexico this kind of left-turn maneuver is quite acceptable when the lanes and the traffic light clusters are marked accordingly.

Anyway, I'm much must wiser and more careful to this act now, but surely some drives are making illegal turns at this busy junction, yes?

Yes.

Yes, it is illegal to turn left off the caraterra onto any of the 4 main streets (including Colon) into Ajijic centro. They are all clearly marked with signs.

Depends... who's watch'n....

Yup, just like crossing the yellow line, only illegal if you get caught!

The 2 places that increase my heart rate the most are the WM intersection and Colon and carretera in Ajijic. Anything can happen.

The Libramiento is another one. Returning to the lake one day, driving normal speed, I started up the little hill and noticed a burro on the side of the road. I slowed. Then when I was almost on top of him, I saw the rope. He moved and there was enough slack for me to drive over the rope. That would have been very ugly.

Many cars turn left on Colon causing from traffic back up and it is illegal but they do it anyways..

Along with the others, police and taxis routinely turn left there. Annoying yes, worth getting stressed out no.

Yea its not a big deal but us walking/waiting folks its a little bit of a pain as when people turn to go on Colon the cars go around and drive on the bus stop  area in front of Montagna Plaza where people are standing to go west on the bus. Seen some close action to people here.  Something to think about and its not going to get better. I admit the area around the corner could be safer with a little bit of rework.

Z

I guess the enforcement of the law will come after somebody gets killed.

maybe..

rckrckr wrote:Along with the others, police and taxis routinely turn left there. Annoying yes, worth getting stressed out no.

Interesting comment...  I've had 2 near collisions with vehicles making an illegal left turn!  Making a regular (but still illegal) left turn down Colon on a green light would be annoying, I can understand that, since it could back-up traffic into the village especially at weekends.  It's the illegal left turns on a  red light from the bus stop lane, as someone pointed out, that are extremely hazardous.

I wouldn't be against regular left turns down Colon between certain hours, say, 8:00pm to 8:00am - during the evening and night hours when traffic is light. But, we all known that would open the door to total abuse...!!!

Cincy wrote:

rckrckr wrote:Along with the others, police and taxis routinely turn left there. Annoying yes, worth getting stressed out no.

Interesting comment...  I've had 2 near collisions with vehicles making an illegal left turn!  Making a regular (but still illegal) left turn down Colon on a green light would be annoying, I can understand that, since it could back-up traffic into the village especially at weekends.  It's the illegal left turns on a  red light from the bus stop lane, as someone pointed out, that are extremely hazardous.

I worry about the vehicles running red lights (straight through) period.
Motos, bicicletas passing on the right side when you are trying to zig-zag around baches.

All in all... I find the Style of Driving here pretty effective...

Rule #1 if you get in an accident, It's your fault.

..The guy in front is right!! .... If it can be done, Do it!!....

You see drivers making left turns during " Red Lights " when possible, avoiding traffic congestion.

I notice much more Road Rage in countries where Rules Of The Road are strictly enforced.

In Mexico signs and stop lights are only suggestions. Some of you should drive in Guadalajara where everyone runs the red lights and sometimes up to 3 at a time.
Took us 12 red lights to get through the Minerva the other day in the rain, what a nightmare.

Hensley wrote:In Mexico signs and stop lights are only suggestions...

Excellent philosophy!  It just takes awhile to absorb and accept this new cultural difference.

Also, last Monday during the rain, I spent some time driving around Tonala and beyond towards Guadalajara.  What appeared to be "total chaos" on Av. Tonaltecas, the main road through Tonala, which is currently under major construction, could be described as a "controlled chaos" with a few traffic suggestions to help drivers navigate perilously deep excavations.  There was no apparent road rage despite the confusion of traffic interlacing everywhere.  I ended up leaving Tonala in the totally wrong direction!  No problema!  Just another unplanned adventure in the land of endless adventures.

The no left turn on Colon is fairly recent. Up until a few years ago it was legal. For some, old habits die hard.

When I moved here 8 years ago there was no left turn on Colon. It might have been fairly recent then since there was an official map on the post showing the way up, over and back down to the carreterra. That sign has long since disappeared. Anyway, I think "the old habit" excuse has timed out by now.

Has it been THAT long? Time flies when you're having fun.

Trailrunner wrote:The no left turn on Colon is fairly recent. Up until a few years ago it was legal. For some, old habits die hard.

The no left turn started with the installation of semaforos.

Hensley wrote:In Mexico signs and stop lights are only suggestions. Some of you should drive in Guadalajara where everyone runs the red lights and sometimes up to 3 at a time.
Took us 12 red lights to get through the Minerva the other day in the rain, what a nightmare.

How does that "only suggestion" defense work when Vialidad is issuing a folio for running the light?
Running red lights while others are running green lights sounds like a lot of "choques" to me.   Or do the green light vehicles yield to the red light vehicles.

I live at the top of Juarez and come down Colon every day to the Carretera. I have live here since 1997. And I don't ever remember it being legal to turn left to go down Colon from the Carretera. However I do seem to remember a time when there was no sign for a few months or so until they replaced the previous sign.

And yes there was always someone going left and stopping traffic upon occasion.

When I was here about 15 years or so ago, it was no left turn. Actually, I believe the law is no left

Law?