Government spends RD$50 billion on treating road accident victims

Santo Domingo.- Speaking on the Agenda TV show on Telesistema on Sunday, the national health director, Ramón Alvarado, revealed that road accidents havebecome such a large-scale problem that the government spends more thanRD$50 billion a year on medical treatment for victims.

Dr. Ramón Alvarado said that the clinical tests aswell as the medication and other procedures carried out on patients with road accident injuries were extremely expensive. He added that some accident victims require lengthy rehabilitation in order to recover and are often permanently impaired.

Alvarado said that in almost all cases the peopleinvolved in road accidents are of working age, and that the losses thatthis represents for the country are impossible to calculate.

“This means that this is a problem on such a scalethat thegovernment has to spend more than 50 billion pesos each year just to treat the patients with injuries suffered in road accidents,” stated theNational Health Director.

The official called on all sectors connected to theproblem to join forces to try and reduce accidents on the country’s streets androads.

Ramón Alvarado said that motorbike users, who comprise most of the victims, must use their safety helmets, as should theirpassengers.

He also called on drivers to abstain from drinkingalcohol or taking other narcotic substances before driving, and urged themto respect traffic signs and drive at a sensible speed.