In something of a victory for Mexico City’s pedestrians, the new traffic laws that go into effect next month are designed to keep the drivers’ “eyes on the road, and hands upon the wheel”…
(My translation from an article by Hector Molina, el Grafico, 21 July 2007)
The new “Reglamento de Tránsito Metropolitano” (Metropolitian Traffic Code) applies stricter sanctions and prohibits more practices than traffic codes in other cities around the world, such as Madrid or New York.
The new rules, which will apply to the Federal District and the State of Mexico 30 days from now, call for mandatory license revocations for drivers with 12 or more infraction points. Unlicensed drivers will have their car impounded, and be filed 9,102 pesos.
The point system is much more severe than than in New York, where a driver receives three penalty points for speeding, while the new Metropolitan code imposes six.
The new Metropolitan Code also prohibits using celular telephones or “walkie-talkies” while driving. Cell phones cannot be used, even with a hands-free device or speaker. Madrid’s traffic code also prohibits the use of screens, earphones and hands-free devices, but it allows drivers to use voice-activated devices.
Distractions such as televisions for rear seat passenger, or neon lighting around the license plate, are subject to a 505 peso fine in the Federal District or the State of Mexico.
I hope the buses can still show movies, though. I was commuting from Cuernavaca to Mexico City for a few weeks, when the bus was showing the Three Musketeers, and I never did see the end. Well, maybe it was the 2.75 Musketeers.
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A few weekend photos… « The Mex Files // July, 20, 2007 at 7:25 pm
[...] New traffic laws take effect this week in the Federal District, which among other things, mandate a 20 times the salario minimo (after the 1990s inflation, fines and fees are often set based on multiples of the daily minimum wage, to avoid having to revise the civil code every time the currency changes) for swearing at the traffic police. [...]
Visitor550 // October, 5, 2007 at 5:38 am
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