You got that right WW. Many say how terrible the drivers are but I think the opposite. Sure they don't drive like in USA but their method certainly works in la capital.
No one seems to get upset (that often). You see twelve inches of space and you get there first you own it, plain and simple.
It doesn't work unless you accept chaos as being a working standard. Two vehicles cannot occupy the same spot at the same time. A principle that is re-proven many many times everyday. The impatience, the jockeying for position, the creation of additional lanes of traffic where none should exist and the blatant noncompliance of stopping when one should stop, not turning when one shouldn't turn and ignoring every other practical means of traffic control does not make for a working system.
Drivers in this country adapt and adjust. The demolition derby condition of some vehicles here are a clear indication that the concept of impact free driving is not necessarily achievable in this country. A free-for-all is not a working system. There are ways to drive that take this reality into consideration but the death toll on the roads and I am sure the total yearly claims to insurance companies for repairs and liability claims reinforce that idea that the system doesn't work. Thankfully the DR is a small country. Can you imagine the carnage if the population was 10 X larger?
No thanks, I don't need to spend a small fortune to purchase, insure and maintain a safe reliable vehicle just for the convenience of having someone else in a franken-car attempt to copulate with me without buying me a drink first.
Saying the methodology of driving in this country "works" is like saying cancer works - which it does, if death, destruction, carnage, pain and suffering are the primary criteria.
