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Motorcycle Death Rate in the Dominican Republic the World's Second Highest

If some of you want to experience true chaos first-hand, then it's off to the Dominican Republic, aboard a motorcycle. According to the World Health Organization and Dominican sources, the number of motorcycle-related deaths surpasses the one in the US about 4 times. So next time when you ride in the busy Manhattan traffic, think about this.
Usual bike-riding in the Dominican Republic 1 photo
Photo: John Mitchell
WHO claims the Dominican Republic seen 42 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants each year, compared to 11 in the US. The cause is a very simple one: failure to obey the elementary road regulations.

According to the Bradenton Herald, the US State Department dedicates no less than 10 paragraphs to the road safety issues in the Dominican state, warning tourists that they would be better off hiring a local professional driver than doing the driving themselves. And when terms such as "the utmost caution and defensive driving are necessary" come into the game, things stop being funny all of a sudden.

Traffic deaths reign supreme in the black rankings of the Dominican Republic, and they are caused by over-crowded motorcycles and scooters with up to five persons aboard, children, animals and other scooters or bicycles included, very bad road conditions, hundreds of abandoned cars and trucks, failing to stop at the red light, let alone giving a flying fudge to lane-changing rules, signaling, speed, or opposite lane. Driving licenses and protective gear may be encountered, but nobody cares about such details.

The top of this morbid podium is completed with Venezuela, with 37 deaths for each 100,000 inhabitants, while the deadliest place to be is the South Pacific island of Niue. However, the death rate is higher in Niue because of the small population of roughly 1,400.

Well, it looks like some holiday plans are about to change...

Via Motorbiker. Photo by John Mitchell.
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