Say goodbye to tinted windows in DR.

[Chirimoya]

There are two strands to this argument. Knowing what we know about the realities of the DR:

1. Is it OK to break traffic laws?
2. Is it OK to bribe a policeman?

My reply to 1 is a definite no, for all the reasons mentioned earlier.

As I've never been in that position (my AMET didn't seem to be angling for a bribe) I can't give such a categorical 'no' to the second one. Ideally, not. It would depend on the circumstances. Although I would not feel good about doing it, it is sometimes the pragmatic way out.

Miguel, your 'tainted windows' made for an instant image of windows covered in birdsh!t

 

[AlaninDR]

I have this vision of Argo screaming "de oppresso libre" at the top of his lungs with his friends chanting "we are never wrong in the immoral world" in the background.
Wherever you are, what are you doing to change the often unfair application of laws for the better? Just curious, my attitude and culture make me curious.

 

[Robert]

He/she better scream real loud, as nobody on DR1 is going to hear.

Argo...

You want to take a personal pop at me, no problem, just do it via PM or email.

 

[Lambada]

There are two strands to this argument. Knowing what we know about the realities of the DR:

1. Is it OK to break traffic laws?
2. Is it OK to bribe a policeman?

My reply to 1 is a definite no, for all the reasons mentioned earlier.

As I've never been in that position (my AMET didn't seem to be angling for a bribe) I can't give such a categorical 'no' to the second one. Ideally, not. It would depend on the circumstances. Although I would not feel good about doing it, it is sometimes the pragmatic way out.

Miguel, your 'tainted windows' made for an instant image of windows covered in birdsh!t

Thank you for clarifying, Chiri. Robert will doubtless find that most helpful as he did seem to be confusing the two issues when he referred to Mary Poppins! Amusing that he seemed to think I had little experience of real life here.
Like you, I choose not to break the law. Have I ever greased palms to expedite a process eg. getting a particular form signed? Yes, of course, but that is not illegal. It concerns me that some people think it is. Makes me wonder how their greasing differs from mine.
And no Argo, I'm sure Robert does NOT think he is superior. He shouldn't.
None of us should. I think it was unfair of you, Argo, to say that. Uncaring would have been more appropriate, as in "it isn't his problem if other people can't afford to pay".
I do consider that my problem, actually. If I live in a society where inequality exists both in terms of money (ie. everywhere) & in terms of justice (ie. the DR) then I think I should be doing something about the latter. The former I can do little about, other than through personal effort.
And yes, Chiri, you were absolutely correct that the word is 'flout'........but reading some of the posts one cannot help feeling that some 'flaunt' it as well!

 

[Escott]

I just got back to the DR since the tinted window law was passed. I have a car with severly tinted windows all around. Been driving since Tuesday evening without even being looked at by Amet at their checkpoint on the main road from POP to Cabarete.

I bought the car all tinted up and didnt tint them myself. Should I get the tint taken off or should I just leave it like it is? I kind of like people not being able to see in my car but don't want to be hassled so what should I do at this point? I have NO connections with police, Army or politicians.

Scott

 

[Rocky]

Front window only.

I just got back to the DR since the tinted window law was passed. I have a car with severly tinted windows all around. Been driving since Tuesday evening without even being looked at by Amet at their checkpoint on the main road from POP to Cabarete.

I bought the car all tinted up and didnt tint them myself. Should I get the tint taken off or should I just leave it like it is? I kind of like people not being able to see in my car but don't want to be hassled so what should I do at this point? I have NO connections with police, Army or politicians.

Scott

I have double checked with Amet, and they insist it is only applicable to the front winshield.

 

[gringo in dr]

I have visited the DR 9-10 times and observed at least 20 accidents or their immediate aftermath

Two words for you, black cat.

Let me know when you will be in town, I'll take a vacation.

 

[gringo in dr]

I guess you have no idea of what the meaning of a "police State is" The USA is a nation of laws, supposedly equla to all, but we know this to be also untrue, but much more fair then what you support

Did the rich or important people in Communist Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Facist Italy etc ever get traffic tickets? Of course not, when the laws are selective you have the exact problem you all complain about in yoru corrupt Government Corruption, be it Banniter or the "fixing" of a speeding ticket is one and the same, corruption

I believe it is time for me to give up on this issue, it is impossible to explain morality to an immoral person

I have never fixed a speeding ticket. First off the cops here most of the time lack any vehicle. So how would they pull me over? Second their vehicles would have a hard time, if not impossible, of pursuit. To the point that one would not even know they were after you. Third how can they inforce speed limits? There are only a hand full of speed limit signs in Santiago. Fourth, how many radar guns do you think they have here????

You are discussing this moral issue from some sort of high ground. Let me ask you this. How many cops in the US do you think break the speed limit on a daily basis. Almost all. So you have the cops which are "immoral" by your standards up holding the law. Cops have to abide all traffic laws unless they are responding. Depending on code 1, 2 or 3 how quickly they can respond and with what lights, sirens.

 

[Robert]

A word of warning. If I see another post with the full contact details of someone without their permission and it's done for malicious reasons, that posters access to DR1 will be removed permanently.

BS like this just brings the idiots out of the wood work and me grief.

 

[Lambada]

Gone for 6 hours & I missed something! Who posted someone's contact details without their permission? What happened to Argo? Was he removed? Why was that? Did he post someone's contact details? So many questions, so little time!
And yes, everything I've read in local papers tells me the front windscreen only needs to be tint free........yet it would appear that some posters have observed police scraping tint of all windows. Perhaps we should all carry a copy of the administrative proceedure with us.......well, those of us with tinted windows.

 

[jcarn]

It is blatantly obvious that some of you have never driven in DR. I rented a car when I was there and can tell you that it's like playing a video game.

here's a recap of crazyness I've seen while driving in dr.

a bus full of people decided to play 'chicken' with another car practically running it off the road.

having to dodge the oncoming motoconchos which are riding on the WRONG SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY.

having to dodge the families which are crossing THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY

Buying a few beers at a gas station and the guy at the counter opens one for me and says "HERE!, for when you're driving!'

having to dodge multiple oncoming cars on a one way street which I was going the correct direction on.

going to the big plaza lama in S.D. and seeing that almost every car parked next to mine looks like its been in the demolition derby.

being cut off while driving in just about every shape form and matter by everyone from a teenage kid, to a cop.

having to swerve to dodge debris in the middle of the road.

being blinded by ultra high beams at night on the regular.

worrying about the 19th and 20th person on the pickup truck in front of me who are barely holding on and have one foot sticking out of it falling and smashing into my car while we're both going 80kph on the autopista.

taking a wrong turn and winding up UNDER autopista las americas driving through the neighborhoods that have no electricity with my highbeams on just to make sure I dont run over anybody because it was so pitch black I couldnt see anything.

Driving on the highway behind a cop and not passing him thinking he would give me a speeding ticket, only to then notice that everybody else on the road past him already at practically double the speed limit. Then passing him to notice that he doesnt care.

While being driven from santiago to S.D. in a taxi van, watching the taxi driver try to run people off the road who were 'too slow'.

it sounds silly but these words are not enough you have to actually go there and experience it firsthand and then you'll get the gist of how it is to drive out there.

 

[Rocky]

If you don't mind...

It is blatantly obvious that some of you have never driven in DR. I rented a car when I was there and can tell you that it's like playing a video game.

here's a recap of crazyness I've seen while driving in dr.

a bus full of people decided to play 'chicken' with another car practically running it off the road.

having to dodge the oncoming motoconchos which are riding on the WRONG SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY.

having to dodge the families which are crossing THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY

Buying a few beers at a gas station and the guy at the counter opens one for me and says "HERE!, for when you're driving!'

having to dodge multiple oncoming cars on a one way street which I was going the correct direction on.

going to the big plaza lama in S.D. and seeing that almost every car parked next to mine looks like its been in the demolition derby.

being cut off while driving in just about every shape form and matter by everyone from a teenage kid, to a cop.

having to swerve to dodge debris in the middle of the road.

being blinded by ultra high beams at night on the regular.

worrying about the 19th and 20th person on the pickup truck in front of me who are barely holding on and have one foot sticking out of it falling and smashing into my car while we're both going 80kph on the autopista.

taking a wrong turn and winding up UNDER autopista las americas driving through the neighborhoods that have no electricity with my highbeams on just to make sure I dont run over anybody because it was so pitch black I couldnt see anything.

Driving on the highway behind a cop and not passing him thinking he would give me a speeding ticket, only to then notice that everybody else on the road past him already at practically double the speed limit. Then passing him to notice that he doesnt care.

While being driven from santiago to S.D. in a taxi van, watching the taxi driver try to run people off the road who were 'too slow'.

it sounds silly but these words are not enough you have to actually go there and experience it firsthand and then you'll get the gist of how it is to drive out there.

I would like to copy and paste what you wrote for future newbie drivers.
How driving is in this country is a frequently asked question, and you have described it so very well.

 

[sweetdbt]

I think her question is why do you feel you are moraly superior to those that can not pay a bribe for committing criminal acts?

Argo,

I guess my username is misleading. Last time I used the bano I was indeed standing up.

The specific question I was requesting an answer for was a very simple one. WHY NOT JUST REMOVE THE TINTS?

Noone taking the "when in Rome", "I'm glad I don't live in a police state", "I'll do whatever the hell I want to because I've got connections" position, has given a straight answer. Instead I get lectures about Dominican culture and suggestions that my opinions are invalid because I don't live in the DR full time yet.

Sounds like you and I are on the same page on this one.

 

[Toronto2inDR]

I've been driving here for 2 years without incident (knock on wood) but I've seen some crazy stuff! In Canada I never had an accident either but due to many speeding tics and other related violations I was paying $10,000 Canadian for insurance on my motorcycle and I couldn't even get insurance on my car. I guess they thought it's ok for me to ride the bike cuz if I kill someone it will most likely be me but in the car I could kill someone else so they wouldn't take the risk. To make a long story short I'd been racing for some time, go carts and private events with club racers and taken many a race driving school so ability was not a questions but there is no excuse for the speeds that I would drive on public road so I'm not defending my actions and I did pay dearly for them...But when you have a machine that can almost triple the maximum posted speed limit you sometimes act like an idiot.

That said I have never seen such poor driving skills and in the DR. I've traveled to many places in the world the only other place that compares some what to the DR is Argentina but you would never see a motoconcho whipping down the streets of BA with a 50 Gallon propane tank balancing on the seat or some of the other amazing things you see on the streets here every day.

The other day I was driving back from Sosua and ahead of me a big black SUV (with tinted windows) ran right over a motoconcho that pulled out from between two parked cars on the side of the road. I can't say if the tint had anything to do with it because from my vantage it looked unavoidable almost as if the motoconcho wanted to get hit. The SUV ran over him like a monster truck and the bike shattered into a million bits, I can only guess that the rider also did but as the SUV just took off I had to do the same...You see that a friend of mine once stopped at a hit and run accident where someone was injured and took that person to the hospital...The police grabbed him and basically he became responsible for the accident (he was not!)...Paying from hospital bills, fix damages etc. That's all that I thought as I kept my eyes on the road and drove right by that poor young man.

In Canada I would never think of such a thing, infact I had run down a hit and run driver that caused an accident right in front of me in Toronto after a half an hour, high speed chase with the cops on my cell phone and only after making sure that the victim was not hurt. The cops, when they finally nabbed the a-hole told me that I shouldn't have chased him and they may have been right but what a thing to do I just couldn't let'em get away with it but it sure felt good to see his day in court and me as the witness!

The whole point here is that I have no tint on my windows because driving here is so crazy and unpredictable that day or night I wouldn't want anything at all that could even slightly impede my ability to get home safely with out killing myself, my passengers or any other person. I bet that the SUV driver that hit that motoconcho is one of those guys that pays off the cops too, just a hunch.

 

[Chirimoya]

jcarn's post is very accurate. This from a couple of years back is my favourite piece about Driving in the DR.

 

[AnnaC]

I have double checked with Amet, and they insist it is only applicable to the front winshield.

So after weeding through all the BS the answer is " FRONT WINSHIELD ONLY" need to be tint free. My God why do people have to make everything into a drama? So the real question is, who in their right mind drives around with a tinted front winshield? Must be hell to see at night. :cross-eye

 

[AZB]

So after weeding through all the BS the answer is " FRONT WINSHIELD ONLY" need to be tint free. My God why do people have to make everything into a drama? So the real question is, who in their right mind drives around with a tinted front winshield? Must be hell to see at night. :cross-eye

The 2 cars I had seen having their tint scrapped off with a blade didn't have front tints. They had window tints and also the back view window tinted. One car had that huge toyota sticker on the front windshield.
Now AMET was scrapping off their window tints, not the front windshield.
So you can talk to AMET all you want about the technicality of the laws but I am telling you folks what I saw. Don't be surprised if you get stopped and have to go through the agony of seeing your windows scratched with a razor blade.
AZB

 

[Spirit7]

The 2 cars I had seen having their tint scrapped off with a blade didn't have front tints. They had window tints and also the back view window tinted. One car had that huge toyota sticker on the front windshield.
Now AMET was scrapping off their window tints, not the front windshield.
So you can talk to AMET all you want about the technicality of the laws but I am telling you folks what I saw. Don't be surprised if you get stopped and have to go through the agony of seeing your windows scratched with a razor blade.
AZB

I have been doing as you suggested previously; as soon as I spot an AMET cop I put both my front windows down until I am past them. So far, so good.

 

[Robert]

I have been doing as you suggested previously; as soon as I spot an AMET cop I put both my front windows down until I am past them. So far, so good.

What do you do when it's raining? Hahahaha....

 

[BushBaby]

What do you do when it's raining? Hahahaha....

He/She gets wet! HeHeHeHe.....

Come on Robert, HOW long have you lived here??? WhoEVER heard of an Amet Policeman standing out in the rain stopping traffic? - Grahame.