- Thread starter Dolores
- Start date
Carnage on Dominican roads is serious issue
I'm starting to believe it's an inferior complex also insecurity and lack of self respect ..
A few weeks ago I came back on the bus from Las Terrenas with Asotrapusa's service. It was pouring with rain, and I was thinking back to that accident they had on the highway from Samana to the capital where all those people were killed. So I was kind of dreading the trip. And I have to say the driver drove incredibly incredibly safely and slowly. People were actually complaining that he was driving slowly on the mountain sections, he was literally doing about 15 mph, crawling along, but when they called out to ask why he was driving so slowly the conductor said that we would all be arriving safely and securely.
I've had a similar experience recently on an Aptpra service to Punta Cana. So some of these drivers at least are getting the message.
I've had a similar experience recently on an Aptpra service to Punta Cana. So some of these drivers at least are getting the message.
You have to see the glass half full and not half empty. Every day there are some idiot drivers that are removing themself from the Genpool. Just be carefull that they don't take you with them.
That's ecactly the point !!! He was "driving to slow" for the rest of the passengers. Usually the more reckless the driver is acting and the faster he goes, more happy is the crowd inside the Bus.
These generallisations don't help. A few of the 70 passengers on the bus were complaining he was driving too slow. Some of the rest of the passengers were very happy to arrive in one piece on such dangerous roads. The guy stood his ground. Maybe he lost a friend or two in that huge accident which involved a bus from his company.
Perfect example of what some bus drivers like to do:
Another accident today on the 30 de mayo/carr Sanchez. The tractor trailer rear-ended a bottled water truck.
Another accident today on the 30 de mayo/carr Sanchez. The tractor trailer rear-ended a bottled water truck.
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Agree, but given there is no enforcement, it will continue.
By the way, I have noticed a trend in San Isidro of more motos on the sidewalk. Domincans are too passive to do anything about it, so it continues.
I've lost track of how many times a guagua or publico passed me then slammed on the brakes to pick someone up.
Here's one for you. A bus going the wrong way on a one-way street, blocking an emergency vehicle, and refusing to back up or get out of the way.
The madness and the potential for carnage doesn’t start on the highways. It’s begins at home where many young males are treated like Princes by their parents, Parents who shield them from responsibility and accountability during their formative years.
Education is not a priority for the government judging by the consistently low DR ratings compared to other countries. If the government doesn’t care, why should parents care? Many males drift blindly through an educational system supposedly designed to instil in students a sense of civic pride, duty, awareness of basic laws and the need to respect them for the betterment of society.
Fast forward to the age when they get their first motos. They have no motivation to obey the rules of the road or any other rules for that matter. Certainly no interest in maintaining their motos. The police turn a blind eye to their dangerous driving habits and unsafe motos. The police end up reenforcing their bad habits. If the police don’t care, why should moto drivers care?
Move ahead to when they get behind the wheel of their first automobile with a less than basic education and no formal driver training. What DR culture has produced is a person who has the full potential to create major damage and kill a lot of people in the process. They’re basically immature time bombs waiting to go off at some point. The stats speak for themselves.Their cars are an extension of themselves and the feeling of their god given right to do anything they want and get away with it. No sense of caution or the rules of the road whatsoever.
Put them in poorly maintained trucks and busses with minimal or no training and the danger grows by an order of magnitude. Vehicle accidents and the resulting deaths on a larger scale are inevitable. The recent truck/ bus collision was horrific and wrong on so many levels.
What needs to happen to stop this has been discussed at length on DR1. We know it won’t happen. As EHM say, “Nothing changes if nothing changes”. Trite but true. The only certainty here is the onus is on us to protect ourselves when we get behind the wheel of a vehicle in the DR. Personally I’d rather drive a car than take public transport In the DR and put my life in the hands of a poorly trained inattentive driver or someone high on drugs. I could be wrong but in my car I feel I have some degree of control over my life.
Education is not a priority for the government judging by the consistently low DR ratings compared to other countries. If the government doesn’t care, why should parents care? Many males drift blindly through an educational system supposedly designed to instil in students a sense of civic pride, duty, awareness of basic laws and the need to respect them for the betterment of society.
Fast forward to the age when they get their first motos. They have no motivation to obey the rules of the road or any other rules for that matter. Certainly no interest in maintaining their motos. The police turn a blind eye to their dangerous driving habits and unsafe motos. The police end up reenforcing their bad habits. If the police don’t care, why should moto drivers care?
Move ahead to when they get behind the wheel of their first automobile with a less than basic education and no formal driver training. What DR culture has produced is a person who has the full potential to create major damage and kill a lot of people in the process. They’re basically immature time bombs waiting to go off at some point. The stats speak for themselves.Their cars are an extension of themselves and the feeling of their god given right to do anything they want and get away with it. No sense of caution or the rules of the road whatsoever.
Put them in poorly maintained trucks and busses with minimal or no training and the danger grows by an order of magnitude. Vehicle accidents and the resulting deaths on a larger scale are inevitable. The recent truck/ bus collision was horrific and wrong on so many levels.
What needs to happen to stop this has been discussed at length on DR1. We know it won’t happen. As EHM say, “Nothing changes if nothing changes”. Trite but true. The only certainty here is the onus is on us to protect ourselves when we get behind the wheel of a vehicle in the DR. Personally I’d rather drive a car than take public transport In the DR and put my life in the hands of a poorly trained inattentive driver or someone high on drugs. I could be wrong but in my car I feel I have some degree of control over my life.
I would say is pretty accurate for a large segment of the Dominican population.
Thanks Bob. It’s sad but true and both disconcerting and disheartening for me. There are many aspects of DR culture I like and enjoy. If education was a priority in the DR, the potential of this country would be even more amazing.