I saw a guy driving an oil truck through Cabrera the other day going about 50. The fact that he didn't kill someone was amazing. Are you people out of your f****** minds when you get in your cars? You would not be able to get a learners permit in most developed countries with a generous bribe. Does this government give a damn that the average male elsewhere lives to about 70? It should. If a few cops started handing out speeding tickets the average life expectancy would jump 5 years and your emergency rooms would be empty. Saving millions. In my forty years of driving in the states i have given the finger (my award for driving excellence) to maybe two people. Since driving in the D.R. for a year and a half I have flipped the bird to probably thirty drivers. It's time for this lazy government to get off its ass and teach people how to drive a damn car.
- Thread starter steve queen
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worst drivers in the world
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Steve, one thing you will find out about the DR is that you are the "tail" and you cannot wag the "dog". We that live here have learned to accept and account for such behavior since there is nothing we can do to change it. Although venting on a forum such as this can make us feel better for a short time.
Will it change? Perhaps over time. For example AMET was handing out tickets this week in Cabarete for not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle. That was a rare occurrence and may be a sign of things to come.
But don't count on it.
Will it change? Perhaps over time. For example AMET was handing out tickets this week in Cabarete for not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle. That was a rare occurrence and may be a sign of things to come.
But don't count on it.
That was awesome!!...Post #1
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51418611@N05/5448292891/" title="ppppppppuntitled by bocachica64, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5448292891_0452637ef6.jpg" width="288" height="331" alt="ppppppppuntitled" /></a>
Although I do agree, it can be frustrating to see and experience first hand. As far as giving the finger, I would try and use a little more restraint. That will catch up to you.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51418611@N05/5448292891/" title="ppppppppuntitled by bocachica64, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5448292891_0452637ef6.jpg" width="288" height="331" alt="ppppppppuntitled" /></a>
Although I do agree, it can be frustrating to see and experience first hand. As far as giving the finger, I would try and use a little more restraint. That will catch up to you.
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windguy
if the people in egypt accepted the status quo,said things could not change and did not rant on facebook mubarak would still be in power
if the people in egypt accepted the status quo,said things could not change and did not rant on facebook mubarak would still be in power
By the way, there is a thread here on DR1 about the likelihood of this kind of revolt happening here.
You are correct, but it was th the citizens that caused the uprising after being repressed for so long. The unfortunate "freedom to drive like an idiot" does not fall into the category of repression leading to revolt.
wrecksum
i have driven in most of the places you have mentioned and i put dominican drivers at the top of the list....a bit ironic dont you think.....the sum of all wrecks,blogging about driving?
i have driven in most of the places you have mentioned and i put dominican drivers at the top of the list....a bit ironic dont you think.....the sum of all wrecks,blogging about driving?
I will one day write a book about this. There is something with the climate. The brain does not work the way it should .Yeah they drive like crazy, and the destination, very often the plastic chair, will not move. Whats even more disturbing is the "professional" drivers, truck drivers and foremost Caribe tours and Metro drivers. I boycotted Caribe tours, but last time with Metro it was as bad. AND several times they almost pushed me of the road when I been going with car or MC.
I got really upset in the beginning but u can not change them. So just relax and hope for the best.
I got really upset in the beginning but u can not change them. So just relax and hope for the best.
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the rules of the road are REAL easy here.....the BIGGER you are, the more rules you make, so driving a small car puts you at the bottom of the totem pole so get the ##$%%$$ outta the way....
I have been driving here 7 yrs and haven't had an accident, and see very few, but going back home to your so called "civilized" countries, I see way more accidents.....so I can't figure out who really is better or worse....but for me I would rather drive here than anywhere else
I have been driving here 7 yrs and haven't had an accident, and see very few, but going back home to your so called "civilized" countries, I see way more accidents.....so I can't figure out who really is better or worse....but for me I would rather drive here than anywhere else
Must say it rubs off. I've just arrived in the UK for a while and my family think I'm driving terribly, I'm getting honked at for pulling out infront of people I expect to slow up for me at junctions, I appear to have adopted a terrible habit on roundabouts of allowing approaching cars onto the spin before I continue, and I'm expected to use parking bays, wtf. Seems my Dominican habits have made me a liability in the UK
aranoid:
aranoid:U must be kidding me... In DR during Easter week the same amount of people die like in a "normal" country during a whole year (a country in the so called 1st world with same amount of people and cars). That said one of the main problems in DR are the motorbikes and the complete absence of common sense and education.
A Primer on driving in the DR. It's aimed at motorcycling but is equally applicable to driving a cage:
Two Wheels in Paradise
Two Wheels in Paradise
Well
It took me eight visits over twenty years (1985 to 2005 in case you?re interested) to get up enough courage to drive in the DR. In that time I absorbed by osmosis (or something) enough of the local lore to get by on the road. Now I enjoy it. But the biggest city I?ll drive in is Puerto Plata and I won?t drive at night.
I like the Dominicano driver. I know what he?s going to do and he?ll almost always do it. A miss is as good as a mile and let?s go with the flow. This is in contrast to my native Nova Scotia in which I never know what the other guy?s going to do, and by-the-way it?s very often something stupid and dangerous.
It?s not the Dominicano that bothers me and it?s not the expat. But I?m really alert for the occasional driver, the tourist who thinks he knows what he?s doing. In other words I?m on the lookout for (and wary of) people like me and (probably) the OP.
Relax!
It took me eight visits over twenty years (1985 to 2005 in case you?re interested) to get up enough courage to drive in the DR. In that time I absorbed by osmosis (or something) enough of the local lore to get by on the road. Now I enjoy it. But the biggest city I?ll drive in is Puerto Plata and I won?t drive at night.
I like the Dominicano driver. I know what he?s going to do and he?ll almost always do it. A miss is as good as a mile and let?s go with the flow. This is in contrast to my native Nova Scotia in which I never know what the other guy?s going to do, and by-the-way it?s very often something stupid and dangerous.
It?s not the Dominicano that bothers me and it?s not the expat. But I?m really alert for the occasional driver, the tourist who thinks he knows what he?s doing. In other words I?m on the lookout for (and wary of) people like me and (probably) the OP.
Relax!
Driving is behavior and education. Someone asked my wife ( Dominican ) once about the Dominican mentality and she replied: Just check the way they behave in traffic and exactly that is the mirror of their mentality etc.
I myself ( retired Dutch cop ) don't get upset anymore after all the years living here and live and let live. Just be very alert when you go out there.
I myself ( retired Dutch cop ) don't get upset anymore after all the years living here and live and let live. Just be very alert when you go out there.
I did a test with the carrito drivers some years ago when we got the full line, dotted line etc. Why is it not a full line here? I asked 5. Three of them looked at me like stupid gringo and said because it saves money for paint, 1 said it was prob something wrong with the machine painting and one said that here u can pass other cars in the other lane. And btw Santiago now at rush hour, its just fun to watch, at least when u a beer or 2. I just drive defensively. Complete lack of common sense and respect. So much more cars now and no traffic planning.
Driving here is easy!
Just put in your mind that everybody:
is drunk,
under the influence of drugs,
has an IQ of less than 50,
can't read or write,
is deaf,
is partial blind,
doesn't have a driving license,
has a developing brain-tumor and
don't give a ****!
With this in mind (and participating) you drive very safe and relaxed.
Just put in your mind that everybody:
is drunk,
under the influence of drugs,
has an IQ of less than 50,
can't read or write,
is deaf,
is partial blind,
doesn't have a driving license,
has a developing brain-tumor and
don't give a ****!
With this in mind (and participating) you drive very safe and relaxed.
A word of caution
Be careful about any behavior that could turn into a fight between yourself and a Dominican. Giving anyone the finger could easily escalate into a violent confrontation in which you will be the loser one way or another. This is their county and you are not their equal. Better to shrug it off as one of the realities of living here.
Be careful about any behavior that could turn into a fight between yourself and a Dominican. Giving anyone the finger could easily escalate into a violent confrontation in which you will be the loser one way or another. This is their county and you are not their equal. Better to shrug it off as one of the realities of living here.
You make some good points. I also prefer to drive here as opposed to the States because I'm always afraid of getting a ticket back home. At least here in the DR the road conditions are not so good so you don't go fast but when I go back I often exceed the speed limit unknowingly. Yes I get teed off at times but the best remedy is just to not get in a hurry and don't drive late at night and you won't have any more problems than in the States.
I remember living in Orlando we had fatalities everyweek typically on the major routes in the evening. The only fatalities I ever here of are the drunk idiots on the motorcycles riding without lights in the middle of the street or flying off the edge somewhere. Fortunately, they usually only hurt themselves.
I also agree with the other poster that the worst drivers are the one's who do it for a living. Good thing is many drive off a cliff or into something immovable so they have an inherrent attrition component.
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