- Thread starter melphis
- Start date
The DR makes the worst places to drive list. Again.
Yep. driving up to Samana is manageable and relatively safe apart from the odd loco bus driver and at the end of a weekend or holiday and that applies out West to Barahona and beyond. I've never seen too much that worries me out East but I don't venture that way too often. But Cibao driving is crazy and it gets worse as you go north.
The only problem with SD is familiarity and traffic jams. Once you learn the routes and how to handle the guys that creep alongside to make a three lane road a four lane one at lights, it is easy driving but too often slow.
So plan some of your shopping on Sunday morning and the traffic flow is so good.
I remember saying that if I could I'd design a driving game where you drive in a virtual DR avoiding motorcycles, dogs, etc. Haha
In the UK it was quite common for companies to get their staff with company cars to get extra defensive driving skill training. I went through courses twice and it was with a regional traffic police scheme. You were trained to read the road by constantly telling your instructor, a traffic policeman at the wheel every day, what you see as you drive through varied rural and town traffic and motorway traffic conditions at high speed often with ongoing commentary. It was very intensive and the experience makes driving in DR so much easier imo anticipating and reading situations which can be quite bizarre here. On top we got high speed skid pan training on an old airport and that is essential on roads here without skid resistant aggregate topping nationwide for wet conditions. That training saved my bacon one day on the new toll road to LT at the top of the incline after the toll at El Catey as my RR at that time went into a serious wobble at high speed on a wet surface.
Actually looking at this from the other angle..I think the driving skills of most Dominicans are very very good ,,if they were not ,there would be 10 times the number of accidents ..