Stopping cars with rope with a sign.

Koreano

Bronze
Jan 18, 2012
1,546
0
36
Another thing that really annoys me when I drive here.

On Sunday late afternoon I was coming back from Puerto Plata and I was doing like 70-90km on the way back passing slow moving truck and cars and about like 20km away from Maimon I've noticed there were kids with adults trying to stop a moving cars with rope with a sign. It wasn't like near any stop sign, school or airport where people couldn't go faster then 5 km/h with stop signs and speed bumps. It was after curved road break hard situation and apparently the car in front of us didn't approved this and curse them out and we all passed.

What to do with those folks? The signed said something about school and I refuse to believe kids are out there for school on middle of vacation.
 

gibbs

New member
May 31, 2005
249
0
0
I stopped in Luperon a couple of times. The kids said they were raising money for baseball supplies.
i gave them a few pesos from my windsheild washer cup.
Seemed legit
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
if I have it, they get 5-10 pesos..... can be a fund for road repair, school, sports -----anything

better than giving it to the Vipers........
Vindow Vipers.......:mad:
 

DR_Guy

Bronze
Feb 17, 2010
891
81
48
Where I live they are definitely fund raisers. Believe it or not most Dominicans try do the right thing, at least where I live. :)
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
Could be collecting for almost anything.

We often come upon people asking for money because they've painted the speed bump/policia acostado and hope to get help with the paint cost. [There are 22 or 24 bumps from our house to SD, I forget which]
 

ctrob

Silver
Nov 9, 2006
5,591
781
113
We often come upon people asking for money because they've painted the speed bump/policia acostado and hope to get help with the paint cost.

I've never heard of that one. What's the Tax for fresh Speed Bump paint?
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
often, they have a bag of cement and are fixing holes while they ask for contributions.....

or money to remove speed bumps.... I ahve seen that
they pull the little bumps off the road.... check it out between Nagua and el Catey.... GONE!!
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
true story.... the local community pulled out all the little pimples on the road.

in other communities, they just pull out enough for the motos to pass .....
 

Contango

Banned
Dec 27, 2010
2,196
5
0
if I have it, they get 5-10 pesos..... can be a fund for road repair, school, sports -----anything

better than giving it to the Vipers........
Vindow Vipers.......:mad:

Best way to annoy the Vipers, put your wipers on when they approach with their dirty pee water.
 

texan

Member
Apr 1, 2014
442
2
18
There are only a couple of intersection they do it in Puerto Plata but they are hard to stop in Puerto Plata. I have tried putting my windshield wipers on. They pull them so they are still going back and forth but out of the way. Then I started stopping well before the red light or the car in front of me. Then I would do a slow roll and try to keep moving until the light turns green. They walk along the car until you have to stop. Of course when they see a gringo they are really attracted to the car.

I have been in other cities and they will not touch your car if you tell them not to or put on your wipers. In puerto plata I think I would have to get out of the car and probably get in a physical altercation that wouldn't be worth it. Other option is to take the Malecon and avoid these intersections.

When I have been in Santiago and Santo Domingo I was able to get them to not touch the windshield. But I do drive around those cities a lot.
 

judypdr

Active member
Jul 23, 2011
558
1
38
73
Costambar
If you really don't want your windshield washed, just tell them so and give them some money anyway. After a few trips through the area, they will get the message. What does a dollar (40 pesos) matter to you? It might mean lunch for them. Chill! Andabout the stopping on the road with a rope and sign, that happen to me to the entrance road to Costambar recently. Only it was an old(er) woman with a bucket and some plastic/vinyl tape of some sort, which she had strung to a tree across the street. She raised it when a car approached. Took me a minute to figure out what was going on and I gave her my change from the dashboard slot where I keep it. OK, my first thought was that it was annoying and I should just run her over... hey, I'm human. My second thought was that her tape was not very strong and that someone else would drive through it. But she didn't raise it for the big SUV driven by a non-gringo behind me. And my final thought was that I wish my Spanish was better so that I could ask her what she needed the money for....
 

texan

Member
Apr 1, 2014
442
2
18
If you really don't want your windshield washed, just tell them so and give them some money anyway. After a few trips through the area, they will get the message. What does a dollar (40 pesos) matter to you? It might mean lunch for them. Chill!

I have never confronted them I just was saying that is the only way I see stopping them. I am targeted because I am because I am a gringo but am normally with someone who is a Dominican. If we tip we give them 10 pesos. I don't have an issue with helping out but I can't help out everyone. If I was to tip someone a dollar or give someone a dollar I would rather give it to someone like the watch man who works our neighborhood. I just see it as a dollar I could be giving to that guy and not the other guy. I also have a feeling the dollar I give the windshield washer might be going to a substance abuse problem and not just food.

If they want to clean up the puerto plata area like they are saying that is something they should also work on. For some reason the are more aggressive in that area then I have scene in other cities. For me it is annoying but I am use to it. But for a tourist I can see it being a negative when they tell people about there vacation to the DR.

The guys on the beach are somewhat regulated and at least they are selling something. I also don't find the guys on the beach too aggressive.
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
1,327
113
I have never confronted them I just was saying that is the only way I see stopping them. I am targeted because I am because I am a gringo but am normally with someone who is a Dominican. If we tip we give them 10 pesos. I don't have an issue with helping out but I can't help out everyone. If I was to tip someone a dollar or give someone a dollar I would rather give it to someone like the watch man who works our neighborhood. I just see it as a dollar I could be giving to that guy and not the other guy. I also have a feeling the dollar I give the windshield washer might be going to a substance abuse problem and not just food.

If they want to clean up the puerto plata area like they are saying that is something they should also work on. For some reason the are more aggressive in that area then I have scene in other cities. For me it is annoying but I am use to it. But for a tourist I can see it being a negative when they tell people about there vacation to the DR.

The guys on the beach are somewhat regulated and at least they are selling something. I also don't find the guys on the beach too aggressive.

So true.........
 
Oct 13, 2003
2,789
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instagram.com
If you really don't want your windshield washed, just tell them so and give them some money anyway. After a few trips through the area, they will get the message. What does a dollar (40 pesos) matter to you? It might mean lunch for them. Chill! Andabout the stopping on the road with a rope and sign, that happen to me to the entrance road to Costambar recently. Only it was an old(er) woman with a bucket and some plastic/vinyl tape of some sort, which she had strung to a tree across the street. She raised it when a car approached. Took me a minute to figure out what was going on and I gave her my change from the dashboard slot where I keep it. OK, my first thought was that it was annoying and I should just run her over... hey, I'm human. My second thought was that her tape was not very strong and that someone else would drive through it. But she didn't raise it for the big SUV driven by a non-gringo behind me. And my final thought was that I wish my Spanish was better so that I could ask her what she needed the money for....

Judy,

I know you must mean well. But in reality you sending the wrong message and are not helping for the following reasons:

1. It teaches people that it pays more to beg, than to work

2. It teaches Dominicans to target gringo's specifically, since they will always give money, deserved or not

3. When begging, they become dependents of the community redistributing wealth rather than creating it, this is not good for the country

4. When they receive nothing from me, after receiving money from countless gringo's, they may become violent towards me.