Definitely, do not drive in Panama. Especially if you are not absolutely 100% fluent in Spanish, as in speaking it as a native.

The driving itself is madness and if you are unlucky and have a collision, even just a minor one, you can be sure the other part will try and have you blamed in any thinkable way, regardless of reality. You need to know handling procedures to perfection and be able to formulate them in fluent Spanish, while possibly dealing with aggressive even violent behavior from the counterpart.

I lived 3 years in PTY and thank God never had to deal with anything unpleasant, but the stories of how non Spanish speaking foreigners (including foreign residents) were bullied in traffic are countless.

And the Panamanians gladly fight each other over traffic accidents.