Repeat :)
If teenagers would hide on the floor of a vehicle rather than be seen by their friends in it, consider the vehicle hijack-resistant. A jacked-up candy apple red Hummer with 24" gold plated spoke wheels, and an airbrushed mural of a bull in-action, painted on the sides would not fare well south of the border. Fancy grade four door 4 x 4 pickup trucks are a favorite, as are larger size Hondas, Nissans, BMW's, etc. But hijackers are picky "Me settle for a five year old car?" A plain vanilla 4 x 2 pickup isn't a favorite. But the teenager analogy isn't a joke.
Petty crime has spiraled upward because cops do not patrol anymore. A sarcastic joke goes like this - "Humberto! Look! A carload of sicarios with automatic weapons and grenadas! Turn on the lights and siren! We have to get out of here!"
Steadily increasing amounts of traffic has transformed Mex 200 along Michoacan from a near deserted stretch in the 1980's to steady light traffic today. Cops and the military have gotten better at boxing in suspects. That and a populace thoroughly aroused has made life tough on Mexico 200 banditos in Michoacan.
IMHO Mex 15 East of the butterfly sanctuary and remote roads like Mex 37 from La Mira to Uruapan, and north and south of Patzcuaro are not to be trusted. Rural state operated roads in the state of Guerrero are perilous.
But similar to the Ferrocarriles Nacional Chihuahua Al Pacifico (Copper Canyon Railway) the days of seeing bullet holes in passenger car windows are history. I don't need the excitement and worry about my kids.
