IDB helps Dominican Republic cut its grim road carnage

Santo Domingo.- The Government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Friday announced a plan for the roads to reduce the number of accidents which have made Dominican Republic the world’s second worst nation in traffic deaths.

The road safety strategy will cost US$550,000 (RD$24.0 million), of which IDB will donate US$ 500,000 and the Government wil provide US$50,000 in matching funds, the Economy Ministry said in a statement.

Economy minister Temistocles Montas met with IDB local representative Flor Montealegre, IDB transport specialist Alejandro Gomez, Economy ministry Logistics director Victor Ventura and Metropolitan Transit Authority director Juan Geronimo Brown and other officials in the National Palace, to coordinate the plan to improve traffic safety.

Ventura said International Automobile Federation (IAF) representatives will meet with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno August 8, to follow up on the Road Safety Plan 2016.

"This plan is in response to the most recent statistics which place Dominican Republic as the country with the second-most deaths from traffic accidents in the world and looks to reduce traffic accidents by 30% by 2016 and 50% by 2020," Ventura said.