Category Archives: Driving Hazards

November 23, 2019 · 6:33 am

Not Quite On the Road Again

The next step in getting on the road again with my new to me moto was to get the title transferred to my name and a license plate. To do so, we went to the Oficina Recaudadora, which my husband calls Rentas for some reason. 

Nothing is ever as easy as it may sound in Mexico and this was no exception. First off, I noticed before we even got to the office that my name was wrong on the back of the original documentation for the motorcycle. That really annoyed me since I’ve been married to my husband for nearly twenty years and you’d think he’d know my name by now. 

Instead of asking me for my ID, he used a property certificate from La Yacata, for the old owner to copy from. As I’m still nominally the treasurer of La Yacata, the certificate has my name, but it’s in the Mexican style, maiden name de Flores (married name). So that’s what the guy copied. 

My driver’s license has my official legal name here in Mexico, which lists my first name, my middle name and my married name because that’s how my US passport is. So my husband tried to squeeze my middle name in after my first name and discreetly cross off the extra last name. I TOLD him they wouldn’t take the document like that and they didn’t. The previous owner will need to ceder a los derechos (transfer ownership) again on the back of the form in order for it to be valid. 

In addition to that issue, there was a problem with my newly renewed driver’s license. Since the address we used, which is my sister-in-law’s, hadn’t changed, I didn’t have them change the address on the renewal. Why would I? It’s the same house. 

But when I turned over the comprobante de domicilio (proof of residency) in the form of the most recent electric bill, that address was different than my license. It seems that when CFE redid their billing system, they dropped the letter A after the house number 1 (1A) on the bill because there was only one meter at that address. My driver’s license has 1A because that’s how the old electric system bill listed it. Since the most recent bill and the driver’s license didn’t match, even though I explained that it’s the SAME HOUSE, I’ll need to get a new driver’s license before I try to register the moto in my name. 

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November 13, 2019 · 6:08 am

Licensed to drive–again

Wednesday was the day we decided to try and renew all of the driver’s licenses, my moto, my husband’s moto, and his truck license. I also needed to make my 6-month lab appointment. Plus we still needed to get the moto title transferred to my name. Not everything got done on Wednesday, but we made a start.

We got up early and did our morning activities. My son was supposed to head early to the tortilleria because his aunt had a 9 am order of 20 kilos of tortillas to wrap. That didn’t happen. 

My husband lost the goats between the time he opened the gate and the time it took to tie Lady. They were completely gone–vanished. He ran back to the house and had my son put on his shoes to help him look. I went upstairs and peered into the distance from both the front and back porch. I didn’t see them either. 

More than an hour later, my son comes back with all of the goats. They had run up the hill, past my father-in-law’s place to stop under a mesquite tree and eat vinas (seed pods). They seemed to have been there the whole time.

I hollered for my husband from the back porch. He came a-runnin’. All the animals were returned to their stalls and we got ready to go. My son arrived late work, but he said it worked out fine since he managed to finish wrapping the tortilla order just as the customer pulled up. Whew!

My husband was a mess. He was covered in grass and twigs and other debris. Sweat plastered his shirt to his back. He didn’t want to take the time to change since he had to be at work soon. We decided to try and at least get the licenses done. Everything else would need to wait for another day.

It was just before 9 when we got to the office and there were only two people who arrived before us. We talked to the guy at the desk. He printed out the payment sheet and sent us to Farmacia Guadalajara to pay. Each of the moto licenses cost $456 pesos. The truck license was $852. So much for this week’s paycheck. However, they are good for five years, so there’s that.

We returned and turned in the receipts. We debated whether to wait or come back the next day. I was all for waiting because we had other things to do on Thursday. While we went back and forth about it, the clerk gave us an eye exam. No problems there for me with my new progressive lenses from EyeBuyDirect! 

So we waited. One of the guys who were there before us decided to come another day. Bully for us! Finally, it was my turn. I had to provide a cell phone number and an emergency contact number. I gave my sister-in-law T’s number. Then I needed to give my height and weight in meters and kilos. I didn’t know those, so the guy just took a guess. 

I signed the forms and had my picture taken in front of the official GTO background. My face came out really blotchy and red, but whatever. I’ve had worse pictures I suppose. 

My husband hadn’t combed the grass out of his hair, so his picture was even worse. His IFE picture makes him look like an escaped mass murderer, so I guess this one was better than that. Even so…

And that was that. My husband ended up being late for work, but this isn’t something we’ll have to do again for FIVE years. Yippee!!

The next step to getting me back on the road again is to get the moto title transferred to my name and license plates. But that will have to wait until I save some more money up.

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November 6, 2019 · 6:27 am

My moto

Last week I took possession of a new-to-me Kymco People 2006 scooter. You may not have realized that I have been moto-less for nearly a year after I flew over a tope at high speed (or what I consider high speed) and the undercarriage of my last moto cracked down the middle.

Nor may you be aware that this is my THIRD moto since moving to Mexico in comparison to my husband’s first. The first moto fell to pieces after I was hit from behind by the meat truck while going to a class one Saturday morning. I was fine but I had a fit of the vapors, which is understandable once you realize that it was about 10 days after my mother-in-law died as a result of injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident with a police vehicle. 

Anyway, I am a moto owner again finally! To reward myself, I ordered this helmet because safety is important. 

The Kymco has a few issues, but relatively minor ones. The gas gauge and speedometer aren’t working. The horn fuse was burnt out. A quick fuse change and it’s fine now though. I haven’t figured out how to open the glove compartment yet. But it runs like a dream!

Of course, I can’t zoop about town just yet. While I was on vacation, my Mexican driver’s license expired. So I’ll need to renew that. Plus I still have to get a license plate, which may be an issue since the owner won’t be back in Mexico until January. (I bought it from his dad with his permission.)

Overall, I’m quite pleased with my purchase. When I set out to find a moto earlier this year, I was floored with the prices. A decent moto these days costs MORE than a 7 x 20-meter lot in La Yacata. And if I had a choice of buying a new moto at that price or getting another lot, well, more land it is. 

When the owner’s dad made the verbal agreement with my husband to sell me the moto, he apparently had no idea how much a new moto costs either. It seems his wife called him a few choice names when they went to buy a replacement moto. But because I had already paid more than half of the purchase price, he agreed to honor the deal.

Anyway, the next step into my return to road freedom is to renew my license, but that will have to wait until the next paycheck. 

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