Driving experiences Anyone in the D.R.

mikeyone

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Apr 16, 2003
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After replying to a forum on Drivers Licences in the D>R......Welll what about your first drive in..... and Thoughts about dying... Cheers. M.
 

amparocorp

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Aug 11, 2002
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i drive for a living now,,,,,,stretch limos in NYC,,,,,live part ot the time in SDQ.........it is easier to drive in the DR.......no rules in the DR,,,,,,,,,well there is 1 rule .....don't hit anything.....other than that just sit back relax and enjoy.......drive as fast or slow as you like,,,,,,,in any lane you like......turn left or right whenever and wherever you please,,,,,,,,,,,don't bother with the pesky turn-signals either......traffic lights are only suggestions,,,,,,,,,,park where convenient.......one-way is the way you are going.......mind the speed bumps in front of the schools.........and don't hit anything because if you do, you will need prayer....EOM
 

Rocky

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Apr 4, 2002
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Driving the DR

Practice a bit on your Play Station Gran Turismo game first. Be ready for everything and anything to happen, including a cow falling from the sky. Drive as if everyone was insane with death wishes and you'll be just fine.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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I have found the technical side of driving here easy enough to adapt to, fun even. I am beginning to worry about the effect it has on me though. Last week for the first time I wondered if it was finally time to stop. One road rage incident too many...

I really don't know. Up until five years ago my commute to work consisted of a serene cycle through meadows and dreaming spires, now I sit hunched with clenched teeth in my lump of metal locked in an eternal war with my fellow psychopaths amidst screaming tyres.

The advice in the posts above is great, BTW.

Chiri
 

amy2761

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Mar 16, 2003
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Something Needs To Be Done!

I love driving. I hate driving in the DR.
I know too many people who've been involved in accidents here in the DR and have had too many close calls myself. Most are situations where a little common sense would have been sufficient to avoid an accident. eg. no, 1cm isn't enough space between two cars for you to push through.

Stay well,
Amy
 

Lissy

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Nov 12, 2003
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I would rather drive in NYC then in DR....true the traffice in NYC is hectic but...you don't have 50 million pasolas coming out of nowhere....there are more accidents involving pasolitas then anything....maybe it's becuase the car to pasola ratio...
 

MrMike

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Mar 2, 2003
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I agree with Rocky that Gran Tourismo is great preparation for driving in the DR.

The key for me was to realise that people here do what they want and sort of trust other people to be unwilling to hit them.

It comes down to a bet as to whether they see you or not every time you turn a corner or cross an intersection. Usually they see you.
 

ecarignan

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Jan 9, 2003
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I enjoy driving in the DR but you need to watch what's going on around you a lot from incoming traffic to people behind you. It takes a few days to get used to it, some people just can't drive in the DR.

As long as you realize that on a 2 lane road, there are really 3 lanes, the middle being anyones lane for passing, turning or anything else.

It's a little scrary but fun. Driving a bike is soemthing else if it's not fast enough, you get a lot of cars and trucks passing you, now that's no fun!

ecarignan
 

Robert

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Jan 2, 1999
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I was recently in England and driving was like being in "bullet time" from the Matrix.

You didn't have to second guess the drivers around you.
Everybody appeared to understand the laws of the road and
what the traffic signals meant.

The DR can be a fun place to drive. You need to use common sense and don't assume anything. If you can avoid driving at night, avoid it.
 

Conchman

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Jul 3, 2002
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A background in pinball games is also helpful, they develop fast reflexes and good hand-eye coordination, besides improving the sense of timing necessary to maneuver through mobile obstacles. A good sense of peripheral vision (looking straight ahead but being aware of conchos to the left and right) is a must.
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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You also have to repeat like a mantra "courtesy is a sign of weakness".

Chiri
 

Lissy

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Nov 12, 2003
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If your in the capital it's not that bad but when you are in Sf de Macoris...bonao...you have itty butty dirt roads and pot holls like crazy.....messing up your tires/rims...
 

RHM

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Sep 23, 2002
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Learn from my experience....it'll be easier

Hopefully this will give you an idea of what happens when you have an accident in the DR. Much of the non-sense can be avoided.....read on....just the facts....

I was leaving work one night around 8PM (teaching English at the National School of Justice). I was about 2 blocks from the school crossing an intersection (no stop signs) and I collided with a woman's car in the middle of the intersection (Nicholas Penson and Rosa Duarte area). Doesn't matter whose fault it was....I'm a gringo so I'm automatically going to be responsible.

Anyway, after our cars collided, hers spun around and she rammed into a tree. I jumped out of my car and immediately went to see if she was ok. She was shaken up but otherwise uninjured. Note: nobody witnessed the accident and there were no people at the intersection but within 2 minutes there were over a dozen folks gathering around and yelling. My spanish was pretty bad at the time but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what they were saying. "Screw the gringo!".

I reached for my cellphone and called a good Dominican friend of mine who is also a DNCD cop (Narcotics). He said he'd be there in 5 minutes and not to go with the police if they showed up. He said to wait for him.

The crowd got bigger and more involved even though none of them knew me or the woman and didn't even see the accident. I asked her if she was ok.....she kept saying yes (remember this). I didn't want to take any chances so I called an ambulance on my cell and had another person give them directions.

The cops showed up and didn't say much initially. Just kind of looked around. My friend showed up 2 minutes later and started talking to the cops. They were obviously planning on screwing me a bit so my buddy took my liscense back from them and said that he would hold it and go with us wherever we had to go. They didn't like that but they dealt with it. (funny because at this point a plain clothes man who I recognized from teaching at the School of Justice walked over and said a few words to one of the cops.) My buddy was listening. Basically the guy told the cop to do what he has to do with reports etc. but not to screw me because at the time I was teaching a bunch of staff lawyers at the Supreme Court. That probably helped.

The cops wanted to go to the Palacio but I insisted on waiting for the ambulance to check her out. The ambulance came, looked at both of us (less that a minute) and she said she was OK (again). Her car was inoperable but mine wasn't. So we called a tow truck and I paid to have her car taken to her house. Funny, after we arrived at her house I paid the tow and he walked right over the the cops and gave them their kickback for calling him. I had to laugh.

Now that her car was home safely.....she decided that she needed immediate medical attention and wanted me to give her some money so she could go to the hospital. I had a better idea, let's all go to the clinic together. We did, and we waited for hours. The cops waited with me and my buddy. Not surprisingly, when she came out of the ER, she was wearing a neckbrace. ........ standby for My Accident Part II: Scandall is incarcerated
 

swake

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Oct 27, 2002
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Driving the DR

When in Sd do like the....

Down 5 Presidentes and half a bottle Ron, then hit traffic.
See... now you're driving like a real man!!!
 

mkohn

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Jan 1, 2002
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We have to wait patiently for part II. After all, Scandall was in the juzgao...
mk
 

DR_DEFENDER

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Jan 8, 2002
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Maybe I'm the only one that drove in DR ( Santiago area) that sees things a little different. I don't know but I really didn't have a problem and didn't feel the danger that so many of you speak of. The only thing that I found to be a little crazy was how some people would be flying at night but even that wasn't frequent. Maybe I need to drive in Santo Domingo so I can see what everyone is talking about.
 

amy2761

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Mar 16, 2003
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DR_DEFENDER said:
Maybe I'm the only one that drove in DR ( Santiago area) that sees things a little different. I don't know but I really didn't have a problem and didn't feel the danger that so many of you speak of. The only thing that I found to be a little crazy was how some people would be flying at night but even that wasn't frequent. Maybe I need to drive in Santo Domingo so I can see what everyone is talking about.

lol!! I was talking about the Sosua/Cabarete/Puerto Plata/Santiago area!!

Stay well,
Amy
 

RHM

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Sep 23, 2002
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Part 2 soon......

thanks for all of the PM's and general interest in part....it's pretty funny but I have been doing battle with the electricity etc. for the past few days........I'll post it as soon as humanly possible....

Scandall
 

jsizemore

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Aug 6, 2003
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Driving aint that bad

Look I rented a car the last time I was down. I went to POP, Santiago, Sosua and Nagua. I say try Driving on the Autostrada in good old Napoli if you want a thrill.
John