Our second car accident in the last 2 months

Spicedwine

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Apr 25, 2006
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So this is the second time we have been involved in an accident in the last 2 months - AND BOTH TIMES HUBBY WAS SITTING SOMEWHERE ELSE - MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS !

First time - having a beer at the carwash while vehicle being washed/cleaned. Drunk gringo in a Hummer careens through the parking lot - and hits the vehicle.

Second time - getting a shave at the local barberia - Dominican and his GF, on a moto, smack ( big time ) into the back of the parked vehicle.

Good news bad news. Accident #1 - Carwash guys TOTALLY took care of everything - body work, paint, todo. Accident #2 - guy and GF pick themselves up, give US a few dirty looks ( what the hell was your legally parked car doing there ? ) dusted themselves off, and away they went. While at least 3 Dominican witnesses looked on, amused.

Talked to a Dominican friend today - he agreed with us on accident #2 : calling the cops and trying to do anything through Insurance company - just costs us MORE money.

Another day in paradise.:smoke:
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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So this is the second time we have been involved in an accident in the last 2 months - AND BOTH TIMES HUBBY WAS SITTING SOMEWHERE ELSE - MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS !

First time - having a beer at the carwash while vehicle being washed/cleaned. Drunk gringo in a Hummer careens through the parking lot - and hits the vehicle.

Second time - getting a shave at the local barberia - Dominican and his GF, on a moto, smack ( big time ) into the back of the parked vehicle.

Good news bad news. Accident #1 - Carwash guys TOTALLY took care of everything - body work, paint, todo. Accident #2 - guy and GF pick themselves up, give US a few dirty looks ( what the hell was your legally parked car doing there ? ) dusted themselves off, and away they went. While at least 3 Dominican witnesses looked on, amused.

Talked to a Dominican friend today - he agreed with us on accident #2 : calling the cops and trying to do anything through Insurance company - just costs us MORE money.

Another day in paradise.:smoke:

do they have insurance companies in the DR?
 

Hernandez

Banned
Feb 9, 2009
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Regarding accident #2, if that guy and his GF on a moto call the police and say that they have injuries, for example a pain in the back, that's enough to arrest you for 24 hours and lock you in the nearest police station (or in Casa de Conductor, if the accident was in Santo Domingo or Santiago and if you have a membership of Casa de Conductor or it's included in your insurance). By the law it doesn't matter if you were outside the car and it was parked, if somebody is injured after collision with YOUR car, YOU must be arrested for 24 hours (or even more, if it's a weekend). So say thanks to those guys that they went away.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Regarding accident #2, if that guy and his GF on a moto call the police and say that they have injuries, for example a pain in the back, that's enough to arrest you for 24 hours and lock you in the nearest police station (or in Casa de Conductor, if the accident was in Santo Domingo or Santiago and if you have a membership of Casa de Conductor or it's included in your insurance). By the law it doesn't matter if you were outside the car and it was parked, if somebody is injured after collision with YOUR car, YOU must be arrested for 24 hours (or even more, if it's a weekend). So say thanks to those guys that they went away.

well, that is in keeping with the national motto of the DR; no es mi culpa. you can hit a parked car, and blame it on the owner.
 

rogerjac

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Feb 9, 2012
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my first couple of days driving here I was rearended by a moto while I was moving. He hit me and fell to the ground, picked himself up and took off in the other direction. I think if he had seen that I was a gringo at the wheel the outcome would have been different.
 

hammerdown

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Apr 29, 2005
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my first couple of days driving here I was rearended by a moto while I was moving. He hit me and fell to the ground, picked himself up and took off in the other direction. I think if he had seen that I was a gringo at the wheel the outcome would have been different.

Not everytime. I had a motoconcho hit and break my tail light, in Santiago, and when I confronted him and said he had to pay, he said lets go past the light and go to the police, and then he up and split...I tried to chase him down, but he got away....
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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one day we were leaving costambar and on a corner we saw a fast approaching jeep, almost exactly in the middle. in order to avoid being hit we went all the way to the right. of course that was exactly the moment when a guy on a moto, who was behind us, decided to overtake us to the left and was nearly crushed by the incoming jeep. moving away from that he crashed into our car and pulled off this bumper kinda thingy over the back wheel.
he fell to the ground, obviously hurt, bleeding from his leg. miesposo stopped the car, got out, picked up a torn piece. in the meantime the dude scrambled up, saw miesposo (who's white dominican) and started spitting that he is hurt, he will call the police, all that jazz. miesposo took a deep breath and began his dominican shouting: pagarte? tu deberias pagarme! followed by some nice curses and waving the broken off bumper. the guy picked up his bike and run away.
and miesposo? he got back inside the car and grinned madly :) he was not even upset...

i shall also add the insurance company has a minimum coverage too. that means if the damage costs below a certain amount they will not fix it at all. i believe my car is set at 8k pesos or something like that. so small fixes we do on our own budget. and yeah, i had my share of bumps and scratches...
 

rogerjac

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Feb 9, 2012
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My wife has just started driving. She is in the process of getting her license. I let her go out with people who are licensed co-pilots with her and more than once she has come home with scratchs and small dings. She always denys it was her fault but has never had any problems with the other drivers only with me. Good thing I didn't get a newer vehicle.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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well, i admit hitting miesposo's car when i first started to drive. once. then i hit my car three times in total: i drove into sensor of our gate; i hit a helmet (no head inside); i hit a truck and took my mirror right off. the rest of dents is "no fui yo!" :) :) :)
few were done by miesposo. the rest who knows...
 

rogerjac

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Feb 9, 2012
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The problem is that this is my third wife that I am teaching. Great for the stress level but I I'm not going to teach any more wives unless they are someone elses
 

VJS

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Sep 19, 2010
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In DR, you need to pay extra attention where you park. "If a drunk idiot on a moped or driving a large truck comes down this street, where is worst place to be parked?" is the kind of logic I usually apply. Best parking spot on a street is when sandwiched between other cars, for instance. So, not technically your fault for those accidents of course, but they still could likely have been prevented by better positioning.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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one day we were leaving costambar and on a corner we saw a fast approaching jeep, almost exactly in the middle. in order to avoid being hit we went all the way to the right. of course that was exactly the moment when a guy on a moto, who was behind us, decided to overtake us to the left and was nearly crushed by the incoming jeep. moving away from that he crashed into our car and pulled off this bumper kinda thingy over the back wheel.
he fell to the ground, obviously hurt, bleeding from his leg. miesposo stopped the car, got out, picked up a torn piece. in the meantime the dude scrambled up, saw miesposo (who's white dominican) and started spitting that he is hurt, he will call the police, all that jazz. miesposo took a deep breath and began his dominican shouting: pagarte? tu deberias pagarme! followed by some nice curses and waving the broken off bumper. the guy picked up his bike and run away.
and miesposo? he got back inside the car and grinned madly :) he was not even upset...

i shall also add the insurance company has a minimum coverage too. that means if the damage costs below a certain amount they will not fix it at all. i believe my car is set at 8k pesos or something like that. so small fixes we do on our own budget. and yeah, i had my share of bumps and scratches...

if a Dominican motorcycle guy hits you, and thinks you are gringo, you are in for it. if he sees a white skin, but recognizes the person to be Dominican, he is gone like a kite. can you imagine some barrio guy getting into Pablo Brugal's face?
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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In DR, you need to pay extra attention where you park. "If a drunk idiot on a moped or driving a large truck comes down this street, where is worst place to be parked?" is the kind of logic I usually apply. Best parking spot on a street is when sandwiched between other cars, for instance. So, not technically your fault for those accidents of course, but they still could likely have been prevented by better positioning.

i once witnessed a young woman riding on a scooter with a young child, and the driver had a Presidente grande in her hand. she crashed into a parked Honda Civic on the malecon, a little way up from Aguaceros. she sustained a cut on her leg, and, mercifully, the infant was uninjured. people were scouring the area, looking for the owner of the car, for him to pay for her injuries.

can you say 15th century?
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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yeah, this is why i call the story of "you will be arrested for 24 hours" busted. i know some rich and well to do folks who got into accidents (even killed someone) and they did not even spend 2 minutes at the police station. it all depends who you are and who you know.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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yeah, this is why i call the story of "you will be arrested for 24 hours" busted. i know some rich and well to do folks who got into accidents (even killed someone) and they did not even spend 2 minutes at the police station. it all depends who you are and who you know.

a 15 year old kid plowed into the back of my car once. broke my liftgate, and cut his leg. when the crowd realized that i was a foreigner, they surrounded my car, demanding i pay him for this, that, and the other. as providence would have had it, my buddy rolled up on the scene in his BMW X5. he is from an old Dominican family, and well known, not to mention feared. he realized it was me, and he stepped out, with a Glock in both hands.

end of story.
 

rogerjac

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Feb 9, 2012
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my brother in law a dominican was opening his car door and was hit by a moto. Demilished the bike and damaged the car door. The bike driver broke his leg. When he found out that he had hit the car door of a police captain he had no hesitation to say that it was his own fault and left it at that. they each took care of their own damages.
 

waytogo

Moderator - North Coast Forum
Apr 3, 2009
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Santiago DR
I am soooo glad I take taxis...........
And the Metro..............
Never my fault........

B in Santiago
 

hammerdown

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Apr 29, 2005
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my brother in law a dominican was opening his car door and was hit by a moto. Demilished the bike and damaged the car door. The bike driver broke his leg. When he found out that he had hit the car door of a police captain he had no hesitation to say that it was his own fault and left it at that. they each took care of their own damages.

Pretty much the same thing happened to me about a couple of months ago. Guy on moto takes out my door, and does some real damage to his pasola.
I get out of the car, swear a couple of times, take his moto off the road, and come up to him and see if he is ok. As usual, the folks are around all over the place, and I ask him again if he is ok. I go back to the car and try to close the door which won't close without some major alterations, so I go and park my car in the car port of the house. The crowd is all over the place discussing the merits of the accident. The owner of the bike comes and looks at my car asks what I am going to do. I say gotta fix it I guess, and he goes to his pasola and loads it into his van and drives away.
I figured I would get a visit from the local police, but no one shows up.
A couple of days later an AMET guy sees me and asks what I am going to do and I tell him I probably have to fix it myself as the driver of the moto probably has no money, and to go to court would be a waste of time....
Long story short never heard from either one of them......so go figure, white gringo and no problem.....
I think some people should live here for a few years before casting stones and stories of the gringo always gets screwed.
 

Hernandez

Banned
Feb 9, 2009
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I live here more than 7 years. Several accidents and no problem too, only once police wanted to lock me overnight in some sh#thole place on the north coast, but I called the right people and everything was resolved. But there is always a chance that the right people will have their cell phone turned off when you need them, so who knows... I have a dash cam (video recorder) in all my cars, this can help with all of those "no es mi culpa" monkey things in case of accident.