just a thought

[AZB]

I am surprised BOB is talking like this. he should know better than to make statements like he made above.
If you don't think dominicans don't get tickets, just go to a AMET court and count how many foreigners you see in line, paying the fines. I would say, 99.9% dominicans pay the tickets in DR. Us (the foreigners) are only a drop in the bucket here. We (the resident and visiting foreigners) contribute very little to AMET's police income. Don't think for a moment that AMET police is making a ton of money, giving out tickets to foreigners. We don't account for much here. Even the tourism sector is not the biggest chunk of dominican economy.
So BOB, you think you know a lot about dominican culture and the daily living here, but in reality, you only know what you choose to see here.
AZB

 

[laurapasinifan]

wrong again aftab........I know what i know...I see what I see...I dont CHOOSE

I dont propose to know anything more than what I do know

I relay what i experience and I see.

what i see is fact.....I have no purpose to twist in any certain direction.

I dont wish to put the DR down, nor to put it on a pedestal.

I give my info matter of factly.

I dont choose to NOT go into traffic court and NOT see all the dominicans!!

I know it helps with your emphasis to say I IGNORE certain things.

fact is when i went to court..there was NO ONE ELSE IN LINE.. there was NO ONE else there

fact is when I went to pick up my drivers license at the police station.
there was 2 6 foot metal cabnets with maybe5 or 6 shelves full of bunched drivers licenses in about 3 Inch stacks....i think there were 3 shelves with JUST NEW YORK licenses!!

now tell me I made that up.. and that I IGNORED all the other obvious license.

fact is i dont know anything else about what was in there , than what i was told were NY licenses.

if I stand on las carreras for 8 hours and watch 5,000 drivers go by with out seat belts and I dont see any of the 5 cops I could probably see at any one time.give out a ticket..am i making that up for DR1 sensationalizm??

have never proposed to know more or speak of things that I havent seen first hand

whats the big deal anyway......I havent seen a domincan get a ticket

I never said they dont get tickets

blind bob

 

[Robert]

those pictures and the descriptions i gave myself of vehicles falling apart are part of a poor society. those people drive those cars and trucks like that because they cant really afford anything else....

You would also see a lot of broken down trucks in the UK and USA if they didn't have to be inspected on a regular basis or the cops didn't care. Actually one of those photos doesn't even look like it was taken here, especially as the truck is full of guys wearing soccer kit. I guess it could be Haitians?

Is it just about money?

The average Colombian is not rich, their average salaries are not much higher than the DR, but in the main cities you see much better condition taxis. Some cities will not allow taxis in some parts that are more than 4 years old. The fares are cheaper than here, taxis are modern, A/C, honest drivers, efficient etc. In Cartagena, the taxi system can best be described as outstanding. In my opinion better than NY, London, Japan, Sydney, Rio, etc, I have used them all.

How can that be if you need money to be using a decent vehicle? It's not just about money Bob, it's about foresight, business ethics, planning, ignorance, education levels etc etc etc.

 

[AZB]

wrong again aftab........I know what i know...I see what I see...I dont CHOOSE

I dont propose to know anything more than what I do know

I relay what i experience and I see.

what i see is fact.....I have no purpose to twist in any certain direction.

I dont wish to put the DR down, nor to put it on a pedestal.

I give my info matter of factly.

I dont choose to NOT go into traffic court and NOT see all the dominicans!!

I know it helps with your emphasis to say I IGNORE certain things.

fact is when i went to court..there was NO ONE ELSE IN LINE.. there was NO ONE else there

fact is when I went to pick up my drivers license at the police station.
there was 2 6 foot metal cabnets with maybe5 or 6 shelves full of bunched drivers licenses in about 3 Inch stacks....i think there were 3 shelves with JUST NEW YORK licenses!!

now tell me I made that up.. and that I IGNORED all the other obvious license.

fact is i dont know anything else about what was in there , than what i was told were NY licenses.

if I stand on las carreras for 8 hours and watch 5,000 drivers go by with out seat belts and I dont see any of the 5 cops I could probably see at any one time.give out a ticket..am i making that up for DR1 sensationalizm??

have never proposed to know more or speak of things that I havent seen first hand

whats the big deal anyway......I havent seen a domincan get a ticket

I never said they dont get tickets

blind bob

I think we are talking about 2 different countries here. I am really surprised you are making all these statements without knowing much about this city.
The foreigners in santiago are less than 1% total population so what are you talking about 3 shelves full of drivers licenses? hahahaha.
the traffic court is full of regular dominicans so please don't tell me you were the only one in line.
You might have seen the foreign license stacked up, since 2000 or 2001. They probably don't throw out anything. I am sure they had a room full of licenses of dominicans just from past 6 months. I have been to AMET court in santiago and I know what I saw there. Foreigners don't even account for 1% of the tickets in this country and even less in santiago.
Are you sure you are not talking about santiago de chile?
AZB

 

[laurapasinifan]

I wont argue the points you bring up. certainly it is the whole picture.

but some of the things that you mentioned are finally( seemingly) being addressed in the DR!! through the goverment.


It isnt just about the money , it is also about "getting away with it"

I am sure that a lot of those truck owners would nto put the money into their truck if they DONT HAVE TO

it takes the goverment to crack down and make them be safe... they wont be on their own.

if they had the extra money, they would buy a second broken down truck!!

I dont know jack shine about columbia, but if you say "they" dont allow this or that...they being "the goverment"... then that is the point...in the DR it seems the goverment might just be coming around to addressing long standing issues with ...well many aspects of life!!

crime..roads, corruption, drugs, drinking....

heck i have a hard time buying shotgun ammo now!! what is the world coming to!! ha ha ha

bob

 

[Robert]

It's not just about the Government, it's as much about the people as well.

Life, attitude, education etc are worlds apart in many sectors of Dominican life. Some Dominicans do the right thing, others don't know the difference.

Progress takes time, baby steps, but it's happening.

 

[Rafael Perez]

the damaged cars brings up a point. I could really care less about the number and registration of the motorcycles. Sure there are a lot of them and they do crazy stuff...but for the most part they endanger themselves and not us other drivers...I did say for the most part.

If I could have my way and a place to start, for the cops to crack down...

I dont think id address drinking, nor motorcycles, nor seat belts.

Id have them spend 95% of their time making sure those huge trucks are safe. I see wheels wobbling 6 " either way...I know they are not keeping those trucks maintained safely...why>>>because it cost money to keep a big rig safe....but poor people need to make money and they cant afford a safe truck and the truck itself!!!

those big rigs and busses are the most dangerous things in my opinion...when they go they are taking lives....how many people die when a motorcycle crashes.....now how about a huge truck.....

I see them going down the road with no sheet metal on the whole front end!!!! just the motor sitting there...nom lights no bumper....!!!!!!! they are over loaded many times and about to tip over it looks like.

thats just me though

bob

Wow! I hear you! many trucks especially dump trucks doesn't have their front hoods on, it is crazy! i went to DR this summer and i saw plenty of trucks with wobbly tires, bended bodies(lik dump trucks that leans over) and alot of black smoke baby! (excuse I love the smell). Sorry i just a truck fanatic and if they loook old even better. I definitely agree with you these vehicles are more deadly than those from Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive!

 

[DOMINCAN BOY]

Dar es Salaam Tanzania

What location?

etc.

DesiBoyZ Masala - Funny Pictures - Funny Transportation Pictures

 

[augustus]

After driving around that country, I wouldn't mind being reminded to put my seatbelts on, not unless i'm using one of those roads, winding roads,heading to or from POP & Santiogo, where half the road might be missing at anytime, then it's 50/50.

And in the Capital, the drivers change lanes without attempting to look,with newer ond older cars having many signs of numerous dings, it's like playing chicken & bumper cars, all in one and i'm not complaining, just bragging, don't forget the dogs & other animals that may suddenly appear in the roadway, including motorconchos!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm just posting this for those not familiar with driving in D R , and tickets are one way of slowing people down and generating much needed money to the government, as long as i'm not getting one.

 

[augustus]

I know it's hard ,but would anyone have any idea how many Dom's, not trying to be a smart@$$, don't have a problem driving without a license. Just Curios.