El Valle Warnings Or Dangers

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Watch out for unmaintained vehicles and do not assume your rental car has airbags.
We rented a car in Panama City from Thrifty on Via Espana in May of 2006. It was a 2006 Toyota Yaris with 2100 kilometers on it in excellent condition. It DID NOT have airbags.
I mention the airbags because:
Leaving El Valle on our way back to PC on the morning we were to return the car we were involved in an accident. As we rounded a series of hairpin turns climbing out of the valley, we were confronted by a 10 wheel Mac dump truck entirely in our lane and entirely out of control. As I swerved to the right and left the road to avoid being hit by it, it tipped over in our lane and slid down the hill. It was fully loaded with gravel. Had we been hit head on by it the
airbags probably would not have mattered. However, had we hit a tree or some other obstacle in the ditch we went into, airbags could have made a BIG difference. We were very lucky to have lived through this experience and so was the driver of the truck, who had only very minor injuries.
The truck had no less than three tires worn to the point of the cord showing. It had various hoses and brake lines tied to the undercarriage with old T-shirts. The bed of the truck had so many rust holes it was a wonder it could even carry gravel. The driver said his brakes had failed...small wonder!
The Toyota had a bent wheel, bent front fender and scratches along the entire length of the passenger side.
The point is: vehicles are often not maintained to the same high standards as in North America. Rental vehicles may have been manufactured to international standards and may not be equipped with the safety equipment you have come to expect in the developed world.