The UK Guardian newspaper reports on the state of the traffic in the Dominican Republic saying that it is chaos on the streets. Shared taxis, often with broken tail-lights, stop indiscriminately to pick up and drop off passengers. Microbuses, or guaguas, turn two lanes into three. Pedestrians sprint across the road. Drivers emerge from corner shops carrying beers in brown paper bags, stepping into diesel-belching SUVs.
Such widespread disregard for personal safety and obeying the rules of the road has helped contribute to the World Health Organization (WHO) ranking the Dominican Republic as the world’s most dangerous country for drivers. The 2013 report found there were 41.7 motoring deaths per 100,000 residents in 2010, nudging it ahead of Thailand.
The newspaper reports that Dominican officials are trying to change a system that has allowed a culture of indifference toward traffic rules and road safety. A proposed bill, expected to be voted on by the Chamber of Deputies in the coming weeks, seeks to overhaul traffic agencies and put in place a campaign to incorporate driver education into school curriculums.
But, it warns, that road safety advocates already fear the bill could be shelved because of resistance from powerful unions that represent a quasi-public transport system running the microbuses and taxis.
Traffic accidents are among the leading killers of Dominican citizens, claiming more lives than the rising levels of violent crime, which receive far more media attention.
The newspaper mentions that in 2010, more than 4,100 Dominican drivers and pedestrians died in accidents. It compares this to the UK, that has six times the population of the DR, and where there were about 2,300 such deaths that year.
The newspaper reports that advocates of the proposed road safety legislation say it is desperately needed to curb the widespread flouting of road safety rules. It also presents the many local contradictions. For instance, it reports that while street signs at major intersections warn drivers to obey traffic laws, these same streets are lined with gas stations where attendants sell beer to drivers and drive-through liquor stores that serve rum cocktails.
Helmet laws do exist for motorbike drivers, but there is little fear of the authorities, reports The Guardian. Each year, traffic police write tens of thousands of tickets for infractions such as not wearing a helmet, running a red light, and speeding. Fewer than 10% of those tickets are paid, nevertheless, it reports. More than 3,400 Dominicans have accumulated 50 or more unpaid traffic fines, according to the Metropolitan Transport Authority (Amet).
According to the Guardian, the Dominican Republic desperately needs the proposed legislation. It will overhaul the 10 organizations that oversee enforcement and education of road and traffic laws, and introduce road safety classes for young people as well as driver education programs in schools.
The main obstacle is the powerful transport unions that oppose the bill. All declined requests to be interviewed by the Guardian.
www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jul/22/dominican-republic-road-safety-law