Turning left from Carretera down Colon - legal or illegal?

Law?

hahaha

I got here in '04 and there was no 'no left turn' sign or arrow. I, and other traffic, frequently made left turns onto Colon. Then, a few years later, a sign went up.

Whether or not it was always illegal to make that left turn, sign or no sign, is up for the Aztec gods to determine.

When I moved here in 2005 there was no sign.

Solid yellow line in the middle of the Carretera......no left turn (from the left hand lane).
Don't know when  that became law....probably when they first painted the lines.
After a few years, they are hard to see.

That line is in front of Walmart too and people turn left in and out of Walmart.

David wrote:That line is in front of Walmart too and people turn left in and out of Walmart.

They sure do, going west......illegally.  At least eastbound there is a turning lane for the Libramiento with a green arrow traffic light.
Some people still insist on using that turning lane for through traffic.

I don't find it difficult to drive here. Sure, in certain spots especially, you can expect some "creativity", but so what. The left turn onto Colón is one of them. But once you know where those locations are, just amp up your defensive driving techniques and proceed with extra caution.

Besides Colón from the carretera, and the blender in front of Walmart, the other obvious spots on the carretera in Ajijic are Revolución, Aldama/Pemex, and to a lesser degree Encarnación Rosas and Galeana.

The thing that impresses me most is the cooperation I see from the majority of Mexican drivers who are driving toward me in the opposite lane. When they see me wanting to turn left in heavy traffic, and they know they're not going anywhere far or fast, they'll often give me a flash of the headlights or an intentional slow-down sginalling I can turn left in front of them. It works really well for the most part.

Just look out for the pizza and pollo ninjas on scooters who can appear quickly from nowhere!

I agree, Rosa. I have learned that in certain areas what appears to be chaos is actually more like a dance. There are certain rules that may not correlate to the traffic laws on the book but in actual practice work much better.

HAHAHA "the blender in front of Walmart"! Perfect!

What traffic cops....I have not seen one in Ajijic in 3 weeks.

One day, a few years ago and while the no left turn sign was definitely up, while waiting for a red at that intersection, I watched a car pull out from behind me into the right shoulder, cross into the intersection, and make a left at the red onto Colon. All the while, that obnoxious little moto cop with the white boots stood in the middle of the intersection directing traffic. . .
Yeah, what cops? lolol

They are painting all new lines at the Walmart intersection today. They must be reading the board.......jajaja.

gvprod wrote:What traffic cops....I have not seen one in Ajijic in 3 weeks.

I see Vialidad vehicles almost every day, usually around La Floresta.  Most Wed., tianguis day, there is one stationed, on foot, at the intersection of the Carretera and Revolucion.  Almost always one at the semaforo in Chapala at Hidalgo and Madero.
If you have an accident, call 765-4747, and they get there rather quickly.