Driving in the Dominican Republic

With the completion of the Autopista Duarte in summer 1998, the Dominican Republic enjoys the largest and one of the better highway systems in the Caribbean and Central America.

Traveling on Dominican highways and back roads at night can sometimes be dangerous. Your path may be obstructed by animals, pedestrians or vehicles without reflectors or lights.

Wear your seat belt. The fact that 50% of Dominicans haven't caught on to the habit is no excuse.

Experts have proven that a vehicle traveling from 80-130 kms. will arrive only six minutes earlier than one maintaining a continuous speed of 80 kms per hour. Most accidents occur when picking up speed to make up for lost time.

When caught in a political caravan or traffic jam, get out your favorite music or turn on the radio and relax.

Exercise special care when driving in the rain. Visibility may be reduced to a dangerous 35 meters on highways and highways bordering the water. Stick to 60 kilometers per hour when driving at night on a rainy day along the slippery Autopista Las Americas, which leads East from Santo Domingo. Avoid driving into any puddle of water where your visibility will be affected.

One quirk in the Dominican Republic is that drivers believe that high beams are necessary, especially when other drivers are blinding them in return. Do not interpret this as rudeness. Just try not to crash until you regain your sight.

The most dangerous vehicles are mini-buses, trucks loaded with farm produce, and patanas. The latter are trucks loaded with containers or large cisterns. The unwritten law of the road is that they have the right of way.

Be careful on hills, where there are two lanes going up and just one coming down. Impatient drivers descending may borrow a lane from those ascending.

One final note about driving in Santo Domingo. Be sure to watch the flow of traffic in addition to traffic signals. A green light may mean Stop if there is a police officer beneath it directing traffic in an attempt to speed things up. Note that hand gestures are usually more important than body posture in interpreting the officer’s intentions.

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