renting a car in the Dominican Republic

Hello! Having read the Lonely Planet strong discouragement from renting a car in the DR, I am rather hesitant to do so. They say that, as a tourist, getting in trouble on the road (due to disrespect for rules, that is quite likely) can be very costly since one is assumed to be at fault, and then maybe even kept in jail for a long time, etc. Does anybody have a view on driving there as a foreign tourist?
Thanks a lot.
Bogdan

Hmmm.. -- mixed opinions. Maybe we'll have such a good time that we'd like to go back, and then we would feel comfortable getting a car.
Thanks a lot for the links!