Yesteray I drove from Saltillo to Querétaro. It was supposed to take 8 hrs, but took more than 10 hrs. Eladio put the scare into me, warning me not to stop very often, and to avoid a certain section of the major highway from northern Mexico to Mexico City. And definitely do not drive at night. I guess that sometimes bad people will put up a roadblock and rob people or even carjack or kidnap people. I suppose it does not happen often, but still a possibility (as seen in the news - but it is the same if you listen to too much news in the United States; you might think someone would shoot you over road rage).
I left before sunrise, and all was going well - at first. As I drove south on the major highway (57) near Saltillo, I could see that trucks heading north were backed up for more than 10 km and not moving. I thought "I'm glad I'm not going that direction." Well, that didn't last. A few hours later I found myself standing still for more than a half-hour, then moving slowly. I thought "What's this?" and hid my extra wallet and passport. Turned out to be some road maintenance, although not much and I'm not sure why it took so long.
So far, I have been flagged over twice by National Guard or Army roadblocks, and once by the municipal police. They have always been very nice and admiring of Hank. The last time it happened, the soldier spoke English quite well and was very friendly. He did a pretty thorough check of the truck, asking me about guns and ammunition and how much money I was carrying. He opened my lockbox to check what was inside, and even checked my container of Bigfoot bandaids, perhaps checking for drugs. He also asked for my TIP (Temporary Import Permit for Hank). Although the automatic weapons and face masks may seem intimidating for some people, I have no problem with it and feel much safer knowing that they are on the road checking vehicles. You see them driving in pickups quite frequently with four or five soldiers in the back of the truck, two or three sitting and two standing watching. I suppose the face masks are to mask their identity to avoid any retaliation.
The traffic on the highways is 95% large trucks with very long trailers, sometimes double trailers. I must say that Mexicans appear to be very good and polite drivers (much better than in Oregon or, especially, in Utah). They stay to the right lane and never pass on the right. And they are friendly in traffic in the cities. The few cars on the major highways, however, often seem to ignore speed limits.
Just be careful eh?