The head of the Trauma and Orthopedics Department of the School of Medicine of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dr. Pedro Green again has alerted that imprudence causes most of the tragic vehicular accidents in the Dominican Republic. A recent study carried out by his department shows that in the first 10 months of the year, 3,014 persons have died in traffic accidents in the DR. This is up from the 1998 year total of 2,910 deaths. Green says the study shows that most of the accidents are caused by the imprudence of the drivers. He says an analysis of the accidents shows 70% of the drivers were talking on their cellular phone, invovled in reckless overtaking, speeding or under the influence of alcohol. Only 20% of the accidents were caused by actual problems on the highways and only 10% by mechanical problems of the vehicles. He explained that last year a study carried out at the Darío Contreras Hospital, the nation’s leading trauma center, showed that 50% of the drivers that were taken to the hospital were under the effects of alcohol. Dr. Green said that the DR is one of the few countries that do not enforce rules for drinking and driving. He said that accidents should increase in the future. He explained that when the new overpasses and highways being built to reduce traffic congestion open, there will be more accidents as a result of speeding. He said there will be no drop in the number of accidents until a drivers’ educational campaign is implemented. He said one of the problems is that there are 13 different institutions that deal with transit in the DR.
