Claudia Franchesca de los Santos, the director of the National Traffic and Transportation Institute (Intrant) told reporters late last week that 90% of all the traffic accidents in the Dominican Republic are caused by careless or reckless driving and other violations of Transit Law 63-17. She noted that in 2017 there was a reduction of traffic fatalities, about 10% less than the previous year.
Intrant is still working on gathering the statistics that are served by around 10 institutions that file traffic fatality and accident reports. The reality is that in the Dominican Republic, some 27,816 persons have perished on the roads over the past 16 years, according to the National Statistics Office (ONE).
De los Santos insisted on driver education. She said she is well aware that when Dominicans go abroad, they follow the traffic laws to the letter.
Public Health Minister Rafael Sanchez Cardenas noted that traffic accidents are the primary cause of death among the population between the ages of 5 and 29 years. He noted that 54% of the victims are pedestrians, motorcyclists, and bicycle riders. The death toll is divided between 24, 240 men and 3,576 women. The DR is a world leader in traffic accident deaths.
De los Santos also called for prior arrangements for traffic coordination when big events are to be held. Last Wednesday, the mega graduation by around 40,000 Infotep students at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium caused a major bottleneck and more than the usual traffic jams. She urged mega events to be held on Saturdays and Sundays when traffic usually declines.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
25 November 2019