Driving in Nicaragua

I drive a moto without problems.  I live in Jinotepe and use it for mostly local errands.  I have taken several week or more long trips: Somoto, Ocotal, and Jalapa; the northern beaches from Masachapa to Jiquilillo and; Darío, El Sauce and León Viejo.  I have never entered Masaya, Granada or Managua, especially Managua and never will.  I report zero problems.  There is the annoyance of multiple stops by police for paper checks but nothing more.

Is Driving in Nicaragua at Night Safe?



Notice the broken down vehicle on the side of the road. The banana truck can only avoid him by inches because of the big rig in the oncoming lane. On the left are a couple of horses…that at anytime…may decide the grass is greener on the other side of the road.

Now imagine this scene at night…in the pitch dark.

While driving at night in Nicaragua you won’t see roaming marauders cruising the highways looking for unsuspecting tourists — the experience will be less Mad Max and more mad dog, or worse, mad cow — but you can expect to see the following:

…stray dogs
…people seated on the side of the road
…wandering horses
…ox carts
…cyclists
…chickens
…a car with no headlights
…a motorcycle without a tail light
…or a person staggering drunk walking the yellow line.

It’s highly unlikely that cyclists, ox carts or the people sitting on the side of the highway will be adorned with any type of reflective safety gear.

There’s no telling what other odd and interesting obstacles you may encounter…causing your nerves to fray…especially if you are driving from the airport and tired from a long flight.

Sometimes paying a bit of cash to hire a reliable driving service is money well spent.

If you do decide to drive at night you better go slow and keep your head on a swivel. And don’t even think about doing something crazy…like multi-tasking.

Is driving at night in Nicaragua safe? We’ll let you be the judge of that!

If I thought the roads were getting crazy in America, I was in for a shock
here!

What I saw in Rivas last week was throwin'-it-off-the-edge suicidal !!

I saw old men and women up along side a moving bus missing it by INCHES.

Whatzzup with that?

Buses, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedal tricycles, pedicabs, pedestrians, horses,
horsecarts, dogs, chickens, monkeys, you name it........all like
a tossed salad that makes one ask the question , "How badly do I want groceries?"

; )

Sabrals,

At least there are no drive by shooting in Nicaragua.  No gang wars.  No cops getting shot.  And you don't see on the news someone or multiple people getting shot in the city every day.  Maybe they are safer down there for a reason!
You need to ask yourself "can I handle this?"  Do I want to live somewhere that everyday is an adventure? 

Here is my perspective.   Let me set the stage.  I was an executive VP of an international Telecommunications company for 20 years.  I always drove BMW's, Audi's and Lincoln's as my most favorite rides.  But my F-250 was my latest and greatest.  I've also been riding and owning Harley Davidson's since I was 18.  I am now going on 65.  Lived in a 4000 sf home on a Gulf Access Canal and sent both of my daughters to SEC schools by paying cash.  I decided to shuck it all back in 12 and moved to Diriamba, Nicaragua.  The only reason I came back home was I finally had a buyer for our home.  After selling the home, my wife's car, my Harley and Ford F-250 we were ready to go back down to Nica w/much less baggage.  Then I had the stroke.  Talk about slowing you down.  It's been over a year now and I've had a lot of time to think.

Here is my decision:  We are leaving, probably in May sometime.  My oldest is getting her Masters from my alma Mata and will graduate in May.  I want to see her walk and get that diploma.  After that, were going to try Granada this time.  We will be there by June 1st. 

Personally I love the milk man riding the streets being pulled by a horse.  Reminds me of the 50's in New Orleans.  There were many horse pulled fruit and & veggie carts roaming the French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny, Treme and the 7th, 8th and 9th Wards of New Orleans back then.  Oh, and lets not forget the Roman Candy horse pulled wagon, selling his rolled in wax paper taffe.  Seeing that in Nica transports my mind to simpler times.  Personally, I see what you describe as a much simpler lifestyle. 

Its the ole You say tomato and I say tomoto.  You say  you guys and I say Y'all.  Different strokes for different folks.  That is IMHO.  I've lived the competitive lifestyle I was brought up to live in the USA all my life.  Now I want simple and peaceful.  I know I can get that in Nicaragua.  I've been studying it since 1978.  I've looked long and hard at pulling the trigger.  Should we do Costa Rica ( we did for a month), Equator, Peru, Italy.....we always seemed to go back to my wife's country of origin.   But this may not be who you are.  You need to ask yourself some questions and figure it all out.
Good luck making your decisions. I know you'll choose wisely.

In Nica now,

Keeping you head on a swivel and not texting while you are driving.....good advice if your driving in the US too!  Just saying.

Hey Guys,
I have time on my hands since I retired.  Sometimes really looking for things to do.  And I stay up late, usually, and get up early.  Old habbits are hard to break.

Anyway, I looked up some stats of driving deaths in Nicaragua compared to the USA.  The land mass of the USA is 268,820 sq miles.  Nicaragua's land mass is only 51,000 sq. mi. w/a population of 6 million people.   So I began looking at states w/a land mass and population that were the same.  Louisiana fit the bill.  With a land mass of 51,840 sq. mi.  & a population of 5 million people.  That is the closest I could come for comparison purposes.  And remember, you would think driving in the USA should be better and safer.  After all, our highways and bridges are much better than Nicaragua's. 

Here is what I found out: 
Per 100,000 population Nicaragua has 18.08 deaths.
Per 100,000 population Louisiana has 15.63
Per 100,000 population in the USA it is 11.6
..........................................Costa Rica is 12.7
..........................................Panama is.....14.1
..........................................Mexico is ......14,8
...............................Venezuela is.............37.2


Nica is a bit more dangerous to drive around say vs. the US and other countries near Nica.  It really gets bad in South America and especially in Africa, the middle east and in Asia, like 38.8 in Thailand.  Wow.  So, be careful when you drive.  But that is good advice for driving anywhere. 

Happy Motoring!

Most of the traffic deaths in Nicaragua are motorcyclists; however, driving does take some getting used to.