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 Wherever you decide to drive in Mexico here are some of the hazards to be aware of.
Speed bumps or 'sleeping policemen" are called Topes (toe-pehs) in Mexico. These destroyers of tires, shocks, and suspension are often unannounced and unpainted, although usually they are marked with signs (such as this one at left), lights or painted stripes on the road. Keep a close look out for them at intersections, in towns, even occasionally on major highways. They come in a variety of configurations: some are smooth, rounded humps, others are series of car-rattling vibrators, yet others are bone-jarringly high and abrupt.
Army and police checkpoints are common but usually well marked with highway cones and signs. The guards may want to  check your papers (passport and visa) and look through your vehicle for guns and/or drugs. The checks are not often thorough or very time consuming and we have never had our persons searched. Most of the soldiers we met on our last trip were friendly, with family who live in the US or the desire to travel there themselves. If asked to pull over, all passengers are expected to exit the vehicle to allow inspection.
 Livestock is a common sight both on and off the roads even on superhighways, so don't get complacent. Keep an eye open for herds of cattle, goats and pigs and be especially wary of narrow roads with little or no shoulder and closely growing vegetation that can conceal the animals. We see many horses and burros with carts or riders all over the more rural areas. We are also seeing more and more tethered animals instead of loose ones on the northern Mexico roads, but the country is still a long way from effectively implementing tethering and fencing laws to keep livestock safe from vehicles, and vice versa.
Beyond the livestock problem, one should also be cautious, particularly at night, with wild animal crossings. We have variously come across deer, sizeable iguanas, armadillos, racoons, coatmundis, opossums, badgers, skunks, thick boas and very large tarantulas crossing the roads both day and night - and whereas most of the wild animals aren't large enough to cause damage to a rapidly moving vehicle, we'd like to think that drivers in Mexico would rather avoid killing these animals needlessly by proceeding with caution rather than contributing to their demise through lack of care.
Machinery is often seen moving slowly down the highways or repairing them. Road repairs in Mexico can appear without warning, blocking a lane or entire road. Backhoes, plows, and unusually wide loads are often encountered with no warnings or pilot vehicles in accompaniment.
Watch out for little vans and buses with 'paradas continuas' (frequent stops) written on the back, they will stop unexpectedly to pick up and discharge passengers, and often have no tail or brake lights.
Some roads are worse than others, many states now have a billboards posted at the state line showing road conditions.
 Bad weather: Watch for fog and sometimes ice in the mountains (even in summertime) and slow down in the rain, especially at the beginning of the wet season, as roads can become slick with a water and oil mix with the accummulation of oil after the long dry season.
Expect the unexpected, we found this wedding party blocking the road on a recent trip. The line of people was four blocks long.
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