Road signs in the Greater Santo Domingo in clear deterioration

Santo Domingo, DR

The traffic signs in the main avenues and streets of Greater Santo Domingo are very deteriorated. On the signs to orient drivers and pedestrians, the letters are almost illegible due to the wear and tear of the paint. In contrast, the informative metal signs with the names of the streets are bent, and the regulatory and preventive posts are almost on the ground.

All of them are located in the different routes of the capital, with the common ingredient of being unreadable for passers-by and drivers’ locations.

On 27 de Febrero Avenue up to the Duarte highway, you can see most of the damaged and abused signs. Similarly, on John F. Kennedy Avenue, the signs are worn.

These signs provide help and support to public transportation drivers and private vehicle drivers on the roads, but when in bad condition, they create risks of accidents and confusion, especially in those with a lot of traffic.

Some signs show a very advanced degree of damage. It seems that they have been without maintenance for years by the authorities who do not keep an eye on them to fix or replace them.

Risk

For a person navigating the city for the first time, as it is the case of the foreigners that visit the country, it is not acceptable that the signs of the main roads are like that because it presents the risk of getting lost and in the worst case to cause an accident with fatal consequences.

Other traffic signs, despite being in good condition, are not placed in the best way. They are very hidden inside the sidewalks, where they are practically absorbed by the trees’ branches or hung on bent light poles due to impacts from reckless drivers.

Many signs are outdated or inconsistent, so, conveniently, authorities monitor whether the correct ones are in place.

Attributions

The National Institute of Traffic and Land Transport (Intrant) is the authority in charge of road signs.

Law 63-17 on Mobility, Land Transport, Traffic, and Road Safety of the Dominican Republic establishes that it is the responsibility of Intrant to carry out education and road safety campaigns, orientation, and awareness to citizens, road users, and service providers for the prevention of road accidents.

In Article 9, the legislation states that, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Works and Communications, it must ensure compliance with the rules of the road and road safety of the national infrastructure network for traffic and land transport.

It must also design and supervise the placement, conservation, and maintenance of horizontal and vertical signaling on the roads, as far as it is concerned, and in coordination with the city councils in its areas of jurisdiction.