Traffic - Guaguas and Taxi Públicos 🏝️ Country and People of the Dominican Republic

followmikecee (61)in #life • 6 years ago (edited)

Hola mis Steemians

In contrary to the US, Germany, Switzerland or Austria, traffic here in the Dominican Republic operates a little differently than usual. Although there are legally regulated traffic rules, in principle, almost only unwritten laws apply.

----))) please follow the traffic rules and the laws!

Not that you drive as you like in your visit to the Dominican Republic. This article is basically intended as information and describes above all my own experience with the local traffic.
(I prefer to add this, not that I get an ad afterwards, haha).

In my personal opinion, the unwritten laws are as follows:

Right of way? Here decides the size of the vehicle. The greater the more rights.
Alcohol? - The official zero promille limit? Anyone who already has the first bottle at 10 o'clock in the morning - no, not water - but rum behind them - simply drives better.
License obligation? 100% are divided as follows: 80% of the traveling population has none, 20% has bought it.
(And I financed my wife's driving lessons and the exam for 5,000 pesos (85 euros) If I had better use synonymous ...)
Sundays is the family day. Man drives to the beaches. The truck or pick-up loaded with the family. Celebrated and drinking. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the dad can no longer control the vehicle (since there are already 3 bottles of rum in it). But the 12-year-old son (only half a bottle drunk), it makes it easy to drag the truck with the family safely home under windy instructions of the daddy.

----))) Warning: It is strictly forbidden to offer alcohol to children in the Dominican Republic. Will be punished with up to one year in prison. But they are allowed to drink it!

The most brilliant thing I've ever seen:
An age-old 7.5 ton truck - totally overloaded with coconuts - squeezes through the streets of Las Terrenas. The horn could be heard from afar, but the twelve-year-old driver only to guess. I just saw his eyes squinting over the steering wheel!

Until a few years ago, the police were still on the streets and "cashed" diligently. Almost every Friday they were at every place and exit. They finally needed a little money for the weekend. Partly this is still found; but you do not always have to put up with the annoying police controls!

It had only advantages if you knew the guys: Too fast driving, red lights and alcohol were no longer a problem. It always costs a little bit. Corruption in the Dominican stile ...

Especially in Santo Domingo, the police now are looking a little bit more on the order in the traffic. So pay attention to the road rules here. It threatens high fines.

The Motoconchos - motorcycle taxis

The Motorconchos are so-called motorcycle taxis. Everywhere, and I mean on every corner they will be found. They drive like crazy and honk that almost bursts the eardrum. Depending on the distance and speed they cost between 5 to 30 pesos. And as a "White" you still get the gringo surcharge on top. That's typical here.

Often with these Motoconchos transporting up to four! paying adult guests (the mother's baby will be added). Live animals, long iron bars, gas bottles or even coffins (crosswise, of course). Everything fits in the back seat. Best, you use such taxis only for short distances and only in localities.

The guaguas and taxi público

Between cities and on long distances there are the so-called Guaguas. These are public buses. Whether small, large, in car format, pick-ups or trucks. All of this is used depending on the country's area for load transport us especially as a passenger transport.
The fares are the same than the Motoconchos, but it officially has more space in these means of transport.My experience with Guaguas shows, however, that the things are actually always crowded. To get into a minibus with officially 9 places - but is already occupied with 16 people? No problem!

In my opinion, only three things actually work with these Guaguas:

the horn because necessary for survival
The tape recorder (or just radio)
and the jukeboxes probably new
And of course the merengue music drowns everything. Then all the people are singing or dancing. And so it never gets boring when driving.