BUMP IN THE ROAD

Up north, drivers encounter speed bumps on rare occasions.  In Mexico, we confront them just about every minute we're on the roads.  The locals call them "topes" (TO-PEZ) and some of these bumps feel more like concrete barriers than reasonable speed-limiting structures. All too often, Mexican topes are car chassis-grinding, suspension-cracking, tire-deflating, tailpipe-breaking, muffler-crunching monsters that take no prisoners.

Many Mexican speed bumps are tall enough to cast a shadow in the afternoon sun. Some are spacious enough to shelter a family of four.

Now, there's one reason for speed bumps in the U.S. and Canada--they're to encourage us to slow down around schools or crowded pedestrian areas.

But in Mexico, safety concerns seem beside the point. For many towns, topes are clearly present to boost the local economy by slowing vehicles to a near standstill. This affords an army of vendors better opportunities to sell their local foods, drinks, and trinkets. Topes are highly popular with beggars, too. Also, they're a proven means for stimulating business for local muffler, tire, and body shops, which coincidentally abound in heavy topes zones.

Some topes are plainly signposted, but most aren't. The only way to tell there's a tope is when you notice you're rapidly approaching a line of vehicles stopped dead in the middle of the road for no reasonable cause; or, it feels like your car just ran over something like a telephone pole. Or maybe four.


Of all the places that I've passed through between the U.S. border and Mexico City, a small market town about 25 kilometers southeast of San Miguel gets my vote for "Topes Capital of the World."

The locals of Los Rodriguez seem friendly enough. Numerous open-air market stalls line the sides of the road. Lively music plays day and night. Happy families gather for heart-warming rituals.  Prices are extremely reasonable for everything from fresh tamales and special drinks to fruits and vegetables and handmade wooden furniture and metalwork.

However, the topes of Los Rodriguez resemble concrete mountains. They appear to have been built by local laborers with the greatest civic pride. You cannot pass through the place, even in a Hummer, without experiencing a severe chassis-grinding, no matter how slowly you drive. Of course, muffler repair businesses abound, as do tire and body shops.

And the question I ask myself whenever I pass through Los Rodriguez is this: Are these speed bumps present for safety concerns or commercial ones?

I think you know my answer.



© 2014 Tony DeCrosta 
Contact me at adecrosta@gmail.com