Typical? Traffic Stop in Santo Domingo PLEASE READ!

I think this one has gone a little overboard, had one person even say they wouldn't hire a car etc etc.

The reality...

I have driven all over this Island for two years now and only been stopped a few times. I drive in the city every day and never have a problem, only been stopped twice in two years, both in the same day. When I lived in Sydney Australia, I got stopped a lot more often, and they usually gave me a ticket for some BS reason, no slipping the cop US$1 here!

YES, sometimes I stop for the cops in the remote areas, have a chat, give them RD$20. RD$20 goes a long way when you only earn a little over US$100/month.

If you run a red light, of course you are going to get stopped and given a ticket if your unlucky, isn't that the same for most other places on the planet? just smile and take the ticket. If you are a tourist, let's be honest, your not going to pay.

If you have an accident, you COULD go to jail. As a tourist this is unlikley, unless you were drunk or someone very seriously injured etc.

Tell me, where else can you give a cop RD$50 (US$3) and get him to drive your car home because you have had one too many drinks?

How many have you been stopped for speeding here? How many have you had a parking ticket here? How many have you had a ticket for a defective part? How many have you had a ticket for D and D here?

The list goes on and on...

99.9% of you will never have a problem. The biggest problem you will have is learning how to drive here. If it ain't in front of you, don't worry about it

Rob.

THANKS ROBERT SINCERELY Rafael Lopez.

Quite interesting. I have been stopped many times for no appearant reason, and even got my american license taken away. Maybe it is my face.

Re: Typical? Traffic Stop in Santo Domingo PLEASE READ!/"Honest thieves"

Thought I posted this, but must have lost it. This is obviously only my opinion, but I'm "comfortable" with it

I have to agree with you that it is not exactly "right" to pay a bribe to a policeman, but what do you do when travelling in certain States in the South of the US? Sometimes you are ushered into "Night Court" in front of a municipal Judge, fined hundreds of dollars on the spot, or set a Court date where you must travel hundreds or thousands of miles to fight a charge that is stacked against you. The other problem is if you don't pay the fine, your license is suspended nationwide.

I don't condone paying "bribes," but I like to think of the Dominican Traffic Cops as "honest thieves," at least you know what they want and they make no bones about it.

It would be nice to see a bit more civility in Santo Domingo driving, but.....

Tom

Don't' even think about bribing a Metropolitan Transportation Police Officer (AMET), they'll take you downtown so fast your head spins.

Well-paid, highly motivated, better disciplined, wear clean, neat, green uniforms, they use personal communication (in case someone gets smart and ignore a stop order), they use SUVs and motor bikes just like the ones they used in the states. Beware, these guys mean busyness

They in my humble opinion are an example of how the Dominican Police should be like.

Gale

That sounds great that the DR has established a fairly paid, well trained police force. My question is: do they then drop ypu into the same criminal "justice" system that has always been in place, or is there reform in the Court System as well?

Tom

Well unfortunately Tom, Dominican congress people are too busy jumping police lines, slapping each other senseless, making emarrazing scenes like the one that took place last week, and just hopping to take a byte out of public arcades.

A few days ago, a careless truck driver killed 5 people when trying to make a U turn in a busy speed way.

Dominican laws just will give him a slap in the wrist a 50 peso fine.

Gale

I don't know as we are any better in the US. What do people in the DR think of the Impeachment proceedings, or do they bother with the farce at all?

Tom

Actually, President Clinton is very popular among dominicans, even more popular than most local politicians, in fact, I think Mr. he's more popular in the DR than in the US.

Clinton's popularity is VERY high in the US (From 63-71% approval of performance, depending on which poll), his only detractors seem to be in a very right wing Republican Minority. Several Republicans have no gone on record as saying this mess should end, that a removal from office is impossible given the party line votes alread taken on issues concerning the proceedings

Tom

I have been going to the D.R. for 12yrs. now and I drive all over the place and never had any trouble. This is the only way you can realy say that you have been to the D.R. You just have to be causious and remember they DO own the road. So go and drive and enjoy.

Again, people usually judge by their own personal experiences. We can not compare driving in the DR to the US, as an example (different rules/different countries). I personally enjoy driving in DR because I KNOW HOW TO. Keep an open mind, learn the system, then complain about it.

Re: Rules of the Road - Driving in the DR, NYC, NJ

Here are the rules as I see them:

He who is moving most predominantly in any given direction has right of way.

You can obtain right away when you don't have it by issuing a sudden lurch in the direction you wish.

If you hesitate, you must give right of way.

If you make a mistake and almost hit somebody, you must stop and wave them ahead, as though you meant to slam on the brakes as a favor to give right of way.

If you stop at an intersection for caution, you have conceded right of way.

If you leave room on either side of you, you are offering that position for the taking and should yield to anyone that moves up along side of you (unless you care to lurch. Then you maintain right of way).

If there is no way to pull out into traffic, stick the nose of the vehicle into traffic until it becomes too inconvenient for traffic to go around you. If they keep going around you, use the lurch technique to take right of way.

When stopped at an intersection, do not stop behind the car in front of you if you have room to pull up next to them, no matter how tight the fit. To do otherwise is to offer right of way to the vehicle behind you.

When stopped at an intersection and it becomes clear to proceed, all vehicles stopped and sitting side by side may proceed and turn simultaneously. He who lurches hardest gets right of way.

If waved down by the police, you must pay 10 pesos without being asked for it. If you don't, you may be asked for ID, registration, and other inconvenient documents. By now, you should pay 15 pesos for wasting the police's time. If you make them ask for the money, it goes up to 20 pesos. If you refuse, you may be arrested or at least detained for whatever it is they determine you are missing or did wrong. If you do not stop, they may radio ahead and you will be arrested. Their reason for stopping you in the first place will be created on-the-fly. If you pay 10 pesos (US$0.70) immediately, you may proceed immediately. 20 pesos gets you a smile and a hand shake to go with it. If you are a tourist, you might be able to get off free by playing stupid.

Some NYC, New Jersey, and DR differences: In NYC, they use the horn to communicate anything from "hi" to "lookout!", depending on how the horn is applied. In NJ, the horn means either "you jerk", or "GO, you moron". In the DR, the horn probably doesn't work. If it does, it just means they are moving predominately in a direction, and therefore have right of way.

If someone almost hits you, in the DR, they act like they stopped on purpose and signal you to go ahead, as to do you a favor. In NYC, its YOUR fault, and the other guy will sternly throw his hand upward into the air to gesture, "What's your problem!"

In NYC, red means stop. In NJ, it means stop if it has been red for at least 5 seconds, else it means hurry up. In the DR, it's a suggestion.

In NYC, the cars kind of float from lane to lane. In the DR, the lane markings, if there are any, merely indicate this is a road.

In NYC, speed bumps are driven over with casual annoyance. In the DR, a speed bump is driven over VERY slowly, so as not to accelerate down the back side of it. To go any faster over the bump could do damage to the vehicle.

In West New York / Weehauken, NJ, most of the cabs are driven by Dominicans, so the rules apply to much of an extent, with the added feature of:

.. The NJ Left (slowly start your turn before the light turns green, so that by the time the light does turn green, you're already half way into the turn and traffic MUST let you complete it before they begin moving).

.. the "wakeup" honk given to anybody that doesn't take off immediately after the light turns green. In the morning, it will probably only earn a short beep because nobody is fully aggressive yet, but if it happens in the afternoon, you could well receive a good 5 second blast.

.. the blocking of the left lane of traffic by moving along at 5 mph, followed by a complete blocking of the left lane of traffic, which is soon after followed by a left turn signal, much waiting, and eventually a left turn.

.. when stopped at a light, the left turn signal is not applied until after the light turns green. In the DR, the turn signal doesn't work, but they do move over to the left half of the lane so that someone else can use the other half of the lane.

.. In NJ, when stopped at a light, if someone pulls up in the right lane like they are going to try to pass you when the light changes, you have the right to lurch ahead before the light even turns green in order to maintain your position. But that's OK because the car will then get directly behind you since you created an entry gap and he will still have passed up the other 25 cars behind you.

JimHinsch@CSI.COM

Re: Rules of the Road - Driving in the DR, NYC, NJ

Jim,

Enjoyed your post! One thing to add - when a car flashes their headlights at you it often means I am coming... no matter what.

The joys of driving in the Dominican! By the way, the horn is usually one of the few things on a Dominican's car that actually works.

Enjoy it ! I like to drive fast. Yes, in DR they drive without light in the night, yes, they are drunken sometimes and yes, there are policemen, who stop you and say? I want your money?. But: most of them know, that others could make mistakes and they behave very cool and accept, that there are ?free? drivers

P.S. where can I get Brugal in Hamburg?

Re: Rules of the Road - Driving in the DR, NYC, NJ

Jim!,

thanks, I enjoyed your post very much, are you a writer for some newspaper or something?

;-)

Re: Rules of the Road - Driving in the DR, NYC, NJ

I appreciate the comment. I'm a computer programmer by profession, a chemical engineer by education.

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM