Boletín No. 87

  Article to be considered for online publication in the Resident and Students Association

Section of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) Blog

Why is the Dominican Republic the most feared place to drive?

Author: Angela Rosalia BanksPaulino

Email: abankspau@gmail.com

M.D. Candidate, Class of 2016

Iberoamerican University (UNIBE)

For decades the road safety in the Dominican Republic has been a social concern which significantly threatens the lives of citizens, especially the motorcyclist and pedestrians, most vulnerable population to a traffic accident. However, we may have been underestimating the seriousness of the situation.

During a clinical rotation through the ED at the Dr. Ney Arias Lora Traumatology Ho spital, leader in poly-traumatized patient’s care, I got a clear view of the impact of traffic accidents to public health, factor that according to Eng. Mario Holguin, director of the Road Safety Network, is threatening to take away the lives of more than 30,000 people in the next 7 years.

Dominican Republic ranks second among the countries with more deaths in the world relative to its population, with a rate of 41.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is only surpassed by the Niue Island, with an index of 68.3 for its 1,500 inhabitants (1).

"The Catastrophic Indicators of 2013" report reveals that in the 36 months between 2011-2013, there were recorded in the Department of statistics of the Metropolitan Authority of Transport of the Dominican Republic, 12,797 traffic accidents that left 5,494 fatal victims at the time of the road tragedy and 12,391 injured (2).

Sinister vials accidents were the leading cause of death by violence in the Dominican Republic in the 2011-2012 periods, according to the Ministry of Public Health and the Metropolitan Authority of Transport, overcoming child deaths by 3% (Fig.1) (3).

In addition to the human losses, traffic accidents cause catastrophic economic misbalances, considering the expenses generated by acquisition of therapeutic methods, the investigation of the accident and the reduced productivity of the injured or deceased. (4)

Dr. Felix Hernandez, director of the Dr. Ney Arias Lora Traumatology Hospital, declared that the alarming number of patients admitted to the Centre due to traffic accidents and the soaring costs that they represent for the hospital, the Dominican State and of course, the patient and their families is highly elevated.

How much it costs to the Dominican Republic a traffic accident in 2013? According to Eng. Holguin, 66 times the GDP per capita. (Holguin M, personal statement, July 2014).  In addition, the Catastrophic Indicators report establishes that to this day, a traffic accident with victims costs an average of 17 million pesos to the Dominican Republic (2).

It is a fact that the country demands a sustainable road safety plan with a view to stop this asphalt monster that’s indiscriminately growing and for which we are all at risk.

Fortunately, efforts have gathered for a project of law regarding mobility, traffic, transportation and road safety, a strategy that seeks to nip the postponement to the resolution of this situation and that is currently being evaluated by the legislature.

As a future doctor and Dominican citizen, concerned about the large number of preventable deaths, I hope there’s a team work between the health sector and the relevant institutions to combat this evil. Ultimately, road safety is everyone's responsibility and prevention is the best weapon to defeat mortality rate due to traffic accidents.

REFERENCES

1)      World Health Organization. (2013, November). Global status report on road safety 2013: supporting a decade of action. 

2)-3) Holguin A, Mario. The Catastrophic Indicators of 2013.II Global Forum for Road Safety. 2014.

4) Perez O, Juan.Mortality from traffic accidents in the Dominican Republic, Casual or regular? Dominican political observatory. 2014.

ANNEXES

Superar en 60 kilómetros la velocidad establecida será castigado con una pena de prisión de hasta seis meses