Driving -- Again

[Birdman]

A while back I was on my wife's pasola and I was turning left into the driveway. A guy tried overtaking me when I was almost across, his bits of pasola ended up in the grass. He pulled out a huge pistol and told me I owed him 4000 pesos. I got my wallet out and I just happened to have that much but I managed to get him down to 2000. Only in this country I think. I told the manager in the local supermarket and she said that she knew who it was. I don't know if he was ever done.

 

[kg4jxt]

Not a passing story, but a driving story: In Santiago, BM Cargo office is on a one-way street, more-or-less westbound. To reach the office, one "should" use the next street north (which is two-way and connects Av. Tejas to the exit ramp from Estrella Sadhala to 27 Febrero, and so go around the block). But that route is less direct for someone on Av. Tejas, so it is not a Dominican favorite. I have been lectured on several occasions by taxis and locals that the one-way sign "no significa nada" or "no es verdad". We have these discussions by shouting from our respecive drivers' seats after meeting head-on in the single lane between cars parked on both sides of the road. One or the other of us (usually quickly) agrees to back up and pull aside as a courtesy to the other (never because we admit error!). I know the sign is on "my side" but custom clearly is not. When I finally surrender completely to custom, I will have become truly native.

 

[Birdman]

I was driving a rental SUV when I came round a corner in Santiago. A policeman was standing in the road with a clipboard. I thought he would step to the side and I would come level with him but he didn't move so I ran straight into him. He gave me a look that worried me a bit but he loosened up a bit and didn't shake me down too much.

 

[Tonchi]

HAHAHAHAHAHA... The Dominicans don't have traffic laws.. They are just suggestions...

 

[ju10prd]

HAHAHAHAHAHA... The Dominicans don't have traffic laws.. They are just suggestions...

Dominicans in general don't fully understand nor respect their traffic laws, but there are fines and since the introduction of the new law, quite large fines now for infractions.

Best advice for a foreigner is to understand the driving regulations and follow to the best of your ability, and at all costs avoid an accident, because in that event things get rough for the foreigner and especially the foreigner on a foreign license with invalid or insufficient insurance cover.

 

[GringoRubio]

Best advice for a foreigner is to understand the driving regulations and follow to the best of your ability, and at all costs avoid an accident, because in that event things get rough for the foreigner and especially the foreigner on a foreign license with invalid or insufficient insurance cover.

I respectfully disagree. It is better to safeguard your life than follow the regulations.

When in Rome, ...

The best advice is to not drive and use a local and recommended driver.

 

[ljmesg]

The play is to buy stock in or manufacture prosthetic limbs and crutches. Mucho Banco.