Car accident yesterday!

What a great program!!!!    Now if they will only use their helmets!

It seems as if the mental atitude of life & driving could be a derivative  of the Malthus theory of over crowding combined with poverty. The lack of hope for a better future can defeat almost anyone when the reality of daily life limits the imagination.The sight of friends, young men missing an arm or leg or wheelchair bound begging on the streets doesn't seem to inhibit their behavior in the least. They seem to bare their wounds with pride, without shame.  There should be an way for the young lost souls to be able to join the fight against the Muslim threat so their wounds or death would have a meaning of more than just sadness at their demise.  I'm only half serious about this. If they must damage themselves, do it for humanity, not just from ignorance & stupidity.  Ignorance can be overcome by education, stupidity cannot..

Gypsy your words are truth, however the natives do fight for something with meaning,  their lives and their existance. As the United States a western nation our sacrifice of lives has and will contribute to our freedom. As do the young señoritas of the DR give of their flesh, so do the young men give of theirs....just to survive....desperation is not stupidity. It is desperation, meaning throw caution to the wind. Sorry if í seem defensive, í do however understand the conversations word for word here in the barrio and í do hear the heartbeat. Maybe í am not welcome here to tell their story,,,then í will let them tell it themselves,,,, buckle your seatbelts...My face hurts so I am truly sorry if I come across abrasive and somewhat empathetic of a crises here in the DR. Perhaps it is truly time to let them tell their story through my ink. My heart is torn and my soul seeks refuge through denial. For this I will refrain from stating my observations of the observed and begin a journey with a culture so misunderstood.

Groby, your words are truth also & perhaps I am to biased now because of yesterdays events. The western countries are blind to the real danger of fanatics.  I neglected to think through my response. Part of what I said only apply to a few lost souls & certainly do not reflect on the many good aspiring, hard working people struggling to improve their lives & of others.  I have wounded myself deeply & also others.  Your observations are invaluable for us to see & understand the people & their lives.  Do not cease your efforts, continue to feel & write.  I forgot my humility in a fit of temper & am humbled by it.We all have truths to tell even though the words are different. You do not deserve the pain in your face, but you can never stop feeling & sharing those feelings.  Simply put, I made assumptions & I was wrong.  My wake board teetered on that curling wave of thought.  Thank you Jeff for restoring my balance.

Gypsy my brother of all universal brothers I am not offended by your truths. Your peripheral view is awesome. Your insights and experiencias also lend encouragement to my desire to somehow share our Dominican observations and to help develope a strong relationship between the Dominicans and us that are passing through this discovery of 500 years or so. From carts to motos, the carnage will go on. As the development of a new age arrives for this deserving paradise, so will the pain and suffering begin to deminish. Let us be the pioneers of offering a buffer to those who little by little arrive to make this their new paradise. These are my parting words on this thread. Blessings to all.....Greg.

So glad to see you are OK..It seems you got off lightly in this instance as many times multiple witnesses come forward to counter the extranjero's account in support of the victim and the foreigner is required to pay an awful lot of money to appease the family of the victim.. Hope all goes well for you.. Having insurance and a lawyer on speed dial is important..

We are not blind.

yes with the same drivers as community cabs???? whats the difference?

I am just seeing this. I had a very similar experience in being hit by a motorcycle. I had to take the guy to 3 hospitals before we found one to take his insurance card. He had a bad ankle sprain, it got really big, and not one of the emergency rooms would put ice on it for him. Unbelievable. I kept asking for it, they looked at me like I was crazy.

He was definitely speeding, he hit my right rear fender BEHIND the rear wheel. A slight swerve and he would have missed me. You guys seem to have beat this subject to death so I won't babble any more on my experience but it was very similar to Planner's. As Bob K said the insurance and getting the car repaired was the easy part. It has been well over a year and I haven't heard anything. Shortly after the accident I heard he was trying to sue for $5,000,000.00 pesos but never heard what happened. My insurance person said don't worry about it. I have full coverage with a $5,000.00 peso deductible. So be sure to get full coverage for your vehicle.

The French President says we they are at war with ISIS, Obama says our biggest threat to National Security is climate change, We here in the DR? Our biggest threat is the motores.

Planner, glad you are OK. Slightly shaken but not stirred.

planner wrote:

We all have  many many feel good stories!  The country is full of really excellent people.  BUT  when the latino passion ignites against you or against something no good lawyer in the world is going to save you!

This gentleman I met at the AMET station and later again at the traffic court, was held at the courthouse an additional  5 hour as there were 80 people outside looking for him!    IF that happened at the accident site then it would be game over!

They  exact judgement immediately in the heat of the moment sometimes. I watched it when a group of locals chased a "thief" up a hill,  they caught him and beat the crap out of him.  The police stood at the bottom of the hill and watched. That was over a pair of sneakers!  Imagine a loss of life. No thanks.

And as to the events last night-  it breaks my heart to see what is going on in this world!

I participate in those beatings sometimes. they deserve it. you come in our neighborhood and steal you pay!!!

Thanks Andy,  thanks Ron.   I am okay,  but it appears I have some sort of shoulder injury from the belt!  Its just where it did its job so not complaining at all.

Yes Texas - I so understand the system of immediate justice and in many many cases it works really well!  I  have no issue at all living in Dominican communities partly for that reason. No one hurts the community and gets away with it.....

And in light of world events, this is not a big one.  But it is  big to me.   I and the other fellow are very very fortunate.  The damage to my car is ridiculous, no one believes that the accident was with a motorcycle!   But we are both more or less okay.

The insurance is handling the other side,  they have stopped calling me.   I do hope that this kid will be okay - the broken leg required surgery and likely needs  more pins or screws or something.

Pins and plates.  I hope this does not end up in court for you and your insurance company backs you.  I am sure he had neither auto or health insurance.

Bob K

He had no insurance no license no papers for the motorcycle and no helmet.  He was driving way too fast and erratically. There were no skid marks nothing.  My insurance is all over this making sure things are handled.   I am so far,  quite happy with them.  They are slow mind you but that is normal.

Nope he has no health insurance AND he was employed at Casa de Campo so someone did not register him as an employee and my insurance company WILL go after them too.   The mandatory  insurance for employees pays the first 500,000 RD in any type of accident.

Sounds like your backside is well covered here.

Bob K

I hope so honey.

Glad to hear that you are OK, that the young man will hopefully eventually recover and that your insurance is coming through for you even if slowly.

Sorry to read about your accident Planner. Hope it turns out OK.

So what what will the cops do about the motorcyclist? 
No helmet, no insurance, crazy driving and speeding   
Mmmh ...let me guess ...Nada!

What a screwed up "Justice" system where the innocent are automatically guilty and have to pay and the guilty profit from their blatantly illegal behavior!

Wonder whats next, if we get mugged, we are guilty for walking in the street?

Well I am not guilty of anything.  That was made very clear thank goodness.  My insurance will not be paying him as he is in the wrong and their lawyer deals with it. Even if the kid sues they handle it all. 

In actual fact the insurance can go after this kid for the cost of everything as he is in the wrong. BUT he has nothing so it isn't worth the effort.

" if we get mugged, we are guilty for walking in the street? "

In fact I would not be surprised if this was an argument used in court. I had a friend who had to pay for a motor cycle repair when an idiot on a bike hit his legally parked car while he was having lunch.  Argument was.......if he had not parked there then there would have been no accident.

Bob K

Bob K, If it wasn't so tragic it would be very funny

Exactly  true!

Sometimes you  just have to shake you head.

Bob K

November 08 2015

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Beaverto … 37301.html

This family lives just 25 minutes from me in the states. Like I said, I had made my decision regarding driving in the DRl


LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic -- A father from Beaverton says he's trapped in a foreign country after a deadly crash he claims wasn't his fault.

John Ekman and his girlfriend, Lori Breeden, said Ekman is not allowed to leave the Dominican Republic and that he could be there for months.

The couple left their left home on Oct. 28 for the country they've long thought of as paradise.

"I'm heartbroken because I really love this place,” Ekman told KATU via FaceTime on Monday. “I love these people."

Ekman and Breeden have been to the Dominican Republic three times since Ekman retired from his career as an electrician last year.

They said if Ekman's ever able to leave the country, they'll likely never come back.

"I'm an amputee. I lost my leg when I was a teenager,” said Breeden. “That was not great but I'd do that again over going through this."

On the night of Nov. 8, Ekman said he and Breeden were driving a rental car in the city of La Romana.

They were on a busy freeway and excited about exploring the city when disaster struck.

"We came upon, like, with no time to react there's a motorcycle lying down flat in our lane right in the middle of our lane in the freeway,” Ekman said, “and we impacted the motorcycle, the air bags went off."

They pulled off the side of the road immediately, Ekman said, and went back to the crash scene to wait for police.

"I speak fluent Spanish,” said Ekman. “The few people that were there were chattering about (the motorcyclist) had been hit by a truck … I see this man and I'm just … I was in shock."

Ekman and Breeden said they were eventually taken to a police station where family members of the motorcyclist who died had gathered outside.

"A young police officer that was there with us, he was nervous because he was hearing things and I heard, 'Killer!', 'Assassin!'" said Ekman.

He was then thrown in jail.

"The stench of urine from in there,” Ekman recalled, “there's no beds, there's nothing. It's just a concrete hole and there were five people in lock-up in there."

Breeden immediately called the U.S. Embassy, she said, and two days later Ekman was given a bail hearing and let out after paying $200.

The prosecutor accused him of speeding, Ekman said, and his passport was taken away for up to six months.

Ekman said he's hired a lawyer and that he committed no crime.

"Everybody's saying you're gonna get out of this, you're gonna be OK,” Ekman said. “So I wanna keep that in mind, but I'm still terrified because I don't know how long."

Ekman and Breeden said they've also contacted the offices of Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden as well as the office of Rep. Suzanne Bonamici.

A Wyden staff member told KATU they're “working diligently with the family and U.S. authorities to resolve this situation as quickly as possible."

KATU began reaching out to the government of the Dominican Republic Monday morning and so far has not received a response.

Ekman said he has three daughters ranging in ages 19 to 23.

planner i am happy to hear that you will come through all this okay.  your experience and the related experiences of other members brings me back to my original negative feeling about remaining in this country.  i think you should all seriously ask yourselves whether you shouldn't get the hell out of here on the next express airline.

Groby quite the story and certainly not unheard of here.

Bob K

Carivelas,  where do you suggest we all go?  Somewhere with the same climate, the same topography, the same beautiful beaches, the same lovely woman, the same cost of living, the same stable currency?  A place that has no problems with the government, a place without hordes of refugees, where do you suggest we go? I found my place & adapt to the lacks in some things. I call it home, .... the Dominican Republic.

I agree Gypsy. Keep me posted when you can find the perfect place to live.

I really want to write something......

Oh go for it

Bob K

Groby - this man John was at the AMET Station with me.  We were also at the courthouse together.   There were witnesses who saw that John hit the motorcycle after it had already been hit by another vehicle.  I believe that the prosecutor understands that as well!   I heard parts of the conversation. There were other witnesses as well.

He and his girlfriend seem like good people caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.   I  sincerely hope and believe things will  be okay for them and I would certainly understand their not wanting to come back.  It is  a horrific experience.

Thank you Carivales for your good wishes but really I have to ask why the hell you are even here when you feel this way?

I am here because I love this place and the people.  I understand the laws and systems are what they are and accept that.   I dont like everything about this place but I love my life here.  You sound like you do not - so why are YOU here?

Update on my accident -  insurance company has come thru with a rental vehicle,  just in time for the boss to leave the country and the  critical timing to be past!!!! 

We got copies of the quote etc for my car and they are proceeding to repair it - yayyyyy. I really love that vehicle....LOL

See Bob!!! My Darling...has spoken.

Don't let Gypsy  here you call me that, he is celoso!!!

I'm confident he would more likely confírm my observation. 

Ahhhh shucks.......

Ok, with a tone of warning of course...

Just want to say that I am sorry about all your trouble. Your a great person who helps others all the time. Your sharing the upsetting details is another example of that- we all need to know this. I will be making my husband read the whole thread! And NEVER get behind a wheel!!! I hope your resolution comes quickly so you can put this all behind you soon. 🙂

Thank you!

Planner & Groby, you both are correct .... Grrrrrrr........ softly.