Driving in DR

[arturo]

There are many good tips in this and other driving threads. The top safety advice I would give is (in rough order of importance): 1) maintain at least two car lengths distance in all directions whenever possible to allow time to react to highly unpredictable local drivers
2) don't rely on or be distracted by horn honking as horns are used to signal presence more than impending hazard (there is only a fine distinction between the two on these roads) 3) beware of road hazards on the autopista such as people sat in lawn chairs within an inch of the edge of the highway pavement, or any manner of vehicle repair being performed ANYWHERE on the roadway 4) avoid sudden movements such as lane changes or rate of travel because other drivers will stop ahead of you at any moment for no apparent reason or approach from the rear or the side at shocking speeds. I wish them luck.

I have friends flying into the Capital on Sunday and they are renting a car and driving to Sosua. What can I tell them in truth about the roads?

 

[arturo]

That is a wise policy. More often than not, a motorcycle will be speeding against one way traffic.

I look both ways on one way streets!

 

[RV429]

Tell them to take the toll road north to 5 west; get Pesos at SDQ; wear seatbelts; do not speed on toll road (3 radar dudes on Sunday I saw); watch like a hawk the motos and guaguas!

I have friends flying into the Capital on Sunday and they are renting a car and driving to Sosua. What can I tell them in truth about the roads?

 

[slowmo]

My advice would be to not drive. Leave the driving to the amateurs.

 

[malko]

I have friends flying into the Capital on Sunday and they are renting a car and driving to Sosua. What can I tell them in truth about the roads?

As one would world wide, to be careful, to be aware, to keep eyes open.
It may be a bit confusing driving through the capital, but it has been years since I flew into SDQ.
Afterwards its " motorway" all along. Tell them to get petrol/gas as soon as possible as there are long streches of motorway w/o petrol stations.
I would consider suggestimg them to take the new toll road to bypass santiago. Well worth the 100 pesos , saves a lot of hassle.

Once at navarrate, its a main road all the way to POP. Much better since they painted lines on the side and in the middle. And sprinkled a few cats-eyes.
Thats the road I use to go to capitol. SdQ-santiago-navarate-imbert.
But there may be a better route, time-wise, SDQ to sosua. But no idea.

 

[GringoRubio]

If you don't know the road, follow a truck and keep some braking distance. I still remember my first trip to the DR. After I skidded into an unpainted speed bump on an open highway, I used this advice. I still remember the truck full of platanos, papayas, pinas and every tropical fruit and vegetable know to man. Plus several men and a scale. The truck hit a speed bump at 80 km/hr and it appeared to explode with produce taking projectile paths in every direction. I safely braked and navigated around the carnage.

 

[dv8]

I have friends flying into the Capital on Sunday and they are renting a car and driving to Sosua. What can I tell them in truth about the roads?

do they drive on regular basis wherever they come from? then after the initial shock it should not be that much of an issue. tell them to blast the horn to their heart's delight. i use it all the time as a friendly reminder to other drivers to look out before they make any maneuver.

i have not driven in many countries, but without a comparative assessment i can say that Dominicans cannot drive cars.

when i was going around SD doing my residency i always chatted with my taxi drivers and they all complained how badly dominicans drive. themselves being an honourable exception, no doubt. one driver summed it up: ser dominicano es un delito. ha ha ha.

If you don't know the road, follow a truck and keep some braking distance.

to stay behind metro bus is a pretty good strategy on that road, especially after dark. the drivers travel it daily and they know every hole in the road.

 

[GringoRubio]

ser dominicano es un delito. .

Sad. Any other culture would say "rules are made to be broken".

But, Dominicans seem to feel the burden of a maldicion or curse by the fact they are born and live here. Like being born into slavery.

I've picked up this sentiment several times, but glad to be wrong....

 

[the gorgon]

Sad. Any other culture would say "rules are made to be broken".

But, Dominicans seem to feel the burden of a maldicion or curse by the fact they are born and live here. Like being born into slavery.

I've picked up this sentiment several times, but glad to be wrong....

i think i have that one figured out. when you live in the USA, for example, you have that thing called the American dream. one day you are broke, the next day you dream up some computer app, and on the third day you are on the cover of Time Magazine. the same applies to other countries, to lesser degrees. the curse part applies to the DR in that the concept of upward mobility is not applicable here. if you are poor, then the general expectation is that your parents are poor, and your kids will be poor. there is no way out of poverty except by going to Nueva Yol. that is why being born here is a curse.

 

[dv8]

hipolito mejia joined the campaign for seguridad vial:

[video=youtube;tmljywwGEzM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmljywwGEzM&feature=youtu.be[/video]

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...de-seguridad-vial-de-la-presidencia-AY5607244

 

[GringoRubio]

i think i have that one figured out. when you live in the USA, for example, you have that thing called the American dream. one day you are broke, the next day you dream up some computer app, and on the third day you are on the cover of Time Magazine. the same applies to other countries, to lesser degrees. the curse part applies to the DR in that the concept of upward mobility is not applicable here. if you are poor, then the general expectation is that your parents are poor, and your kids will be poor. there is no way out of poverty except by going to Nueva Yol. that is why being born here is a curse.

The only thing that I can compare it too is what the American Black men say about their first experience going out of the united states in the 20th Century. In the US, they lived under this horrible burden and curse where everybody is angry and hates them. However, when they leave the US that burden is suddenly lifted and they are treated as human beings. They felt truly alive for the first time.

I lived in Nicaragua and there was a strong sense of community and "we're all in the same boat". They were poor, but it was a privilege to be born Nicaraguan; not a curse. Just the way the police and military acted was very different. I never saw a person treated with less then respect. And, there is an optimism. The per capita income has been rebounding floating all boats.

Here in the DR, society is very stratified. The police are definitely not respectful. Just the other day, I saw them pulling out bats over a fairly benign traffic stop, but the guy wouldn't let them try to put stuff in his pocket.

Ah, the more I write, the more I agree with you. My life would be very different if I was born Dominican. I would like to think I still would have devoured every book (including STEM textbooks) that I could find, but the truth is that I've been hunting for Spanish textbooks and just can't find them. Spanish books are fairly uncommon, period.

 

[the gorgon]

The only thing that I can compare it too is what the American Black men say about their first experience going out of the united states in the 20th Century. In the US, they lived under this horrible burden and curse where everybody is angry and hates them. However, when they leave the US that burden is suddenly lifted and they are treated as human beings. They felt truly alive for the first time.

I lived in Nicaragua and there was a strong sense of community and "we're all in the same boat". They were poor, but it was a privilege to be born Nicaraguan; not a curse. Just the way the police and military acted was very different. I never saw a person treated with less then respect. And, there is an optimism. The per capita income has been rebounding floating all boats.

Here in the DR, society is very stratified. The police are definitely not respectful. Just the other day, I saw them pulling out bats over a fairly benign traffic stop, but the guy wouldn't let them try to put stuff in his pocket.

Ah, the more I write, the more I agree with you. My life would be very different if I was born Dominican. I would like to think I still would have devoured every book (including STEM textbooks) that I could find, but the truth is that I've been hunting for Spanish textbooks and just can't find them. Spanish books are fairly uncommon, period.

you are one hundred percent correct about the stratification of Dominican society. if you live in a place like POP, it will be patently obvious. you can stand outside the schools and determine the economic strata from which the children come. the rich go to certain schools, while the poor go to theirs. if you are poor, you will get a certain education, and if you are rich, another type. the hopelessness occasioned by this configuration is what causes people to attempt to escape by yola.

 

[ju10prd]

[video]http://content.jwplatform.com/previews/PYHPB1hS-isitqcrW[/video]

https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...de-conducir-en-republica-dominicana-YF6869133

Good short video on Driving in DR aired on HBO worthy of watching for anyone vacationing here and thinking of driving. For those of us living and driving here, we can only hope for improvements however distant they may seem and continue driving super defensively.

 

[zoomzx11]

Like lots who drive in the DR I have had a goo number of near misses where my car nearly struck a moto. Like in the one video clip the moto driver and passengers always get a big laugh. It's not a nervous, oops laugh, it's like wow, that was really funny how I nearly got killed. What's going on? They all do it. Do they not understand what it feels like to be hit by a car? What's the thinking, if any?

 

[hard times doug]

I look both ways on one way streets!

On those rare occasions when I drive after 10 pm I slow to a crawl when I come to a green light in anticipation of the ever present drunk blowing thru a red light

 

[Chirimoya]

Promo for TV report on driving in the DR:

Following the deaths of several Dominican Major Leaguers in violent car accidents, Real Sports travels to the island nation to learn why it’s one of the most dangerous places to drive on earth. Real Sports debuts Tuesday, April 18th at 10pm ET on HBO.

[video=youtube_share;pHD4vMjnDdo]https://youtu.be/pHD4vMjnDdo[/video]

 

[monfongo]

Here in pop the later you drive at night the safer it gets as there is a lot less traffic.

 

[Jaime809]

On those rare occasions when I drive after 10 pm I slow to a crawl when I come to a green light in anticipation of the ever present drunk blowing thru a red light

You're gonna get rear-ended by a drunk driving a schoolbus like that. Especially if he doesn't have any passengers and needs to move the bus from one lot to another.