It's Every Car For Itself On The Risky Roads Of Guadalajara, Mexico

The chaos of Mexican roads never ceases to amaze me. No matter how many times I’ve driven there — whether it’s just south of the border, or the great Mexican North, or the capital city itself, CDMX — I’m still left gobsmacked by the feeding frenzy that is Mexico’s public road system.

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And it seems I’m not the only one at a loss for words in the face of Mexico’s dangerous traffic, as this massive Twitter thread of car crashes in Guadalajara, Jalisco shows, courtesy of @dankgdl:

The thread was dubbed the “official #GuadalajaraRoadUpdate thread” by Twitter user Dan, whose username alludes to the city where the pictures were taken. Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It’s also the birthplace of one Sergio Pérez, whom you may know of Formula 1 fame. Come to think of it, Guadalajara has had its fifteen minutes of fame thanks to some unruly drivers, like the water tank that crashed into a city bus not long ago.

The crashes depicted in the Guadalajara Road Update thread, however, are less innocuous than the water tank crash; they’re luckily (and presumably) not all deadly car crashes, but they highlight the danger that drivers have to deal with in Mexico. Really, that seems to be the case in many so-called developing countries, otherwise known as the second-world. Mexico’s roads remind me of those I’ve only seen in pictures, such as those of Mumbai.

Photo: Jalopnik/José Rodríguez Jr.

There’s a sense of organized chaos in Mexico, which threatens to become unorganized at any second. Some thrive in that disorder, but I have to be honest: every time I’m driving there, I have to periodically tell myself to not hold onto the wheel for dear life. Hard to do for someone who comes from the relatively cushy lanes of Texas, where people are hauling ass, but highways are as flat and wide as the state itself; Texas roads give you a wide berth.

Photo: Jalopnik/José Rodríguez Jr.

Roads in Mexico on the other hand? Well, they’re a little more dense. They trade high speed for real estate. So, while you may not be driving as fast in Mexico as in the U.S., it’s nonethless a thrill ride because everyone is vying for mere inches — OK, centimeters — of the same lane.

That’s what causes some of the bizarre and outlandish accidents seen in the Twitter thread. Well, that and the odd axle that goes flying from under a bus, of course. Anyway check out the Twitter thread. The accidents on there are wild.