Fundación Movido brings together traffic leaders to transform the road culture of motorcyclists in the DR

With these words, it was that the Dominican Road Mobility Foundation (Movido) held the First Road Safety Congress for Motorcyclists: “Safe Course”, a space aimed at finding solutions to reduce road accidents in the country.

The event, held in the High Technology building of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), was mainly attended and participated by figures who lead mobility in the Dominican Republic.

Among them were engineer Omar Segura, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the UASD; Hernani Aquino Hernández, from the DR on high; Joel Gneco, director of transit of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transport (Intrant); Payero Pérez; Franklin Glass, executive president of the Dominican Chamber of Insurers and Reinsurers (Cadoar); and Miguel Jiménez, president of the Movido Foundation.

Omar Segura focused his participation on the impact of street design on accident rates. “The motorcycle is highly sensitive to the environment of life.”

He explained that conditions such as potholes or poor drainage reduce grip and that “what for a vehicle may be less for a motorcyclist can mean the loss of control.”

To achieve safer roads, Segura put forward five key proposals: implement inclusive road design, ensure continuous pavement maintenance, adapt metal railings along the sides to protect motorcyclists, apply effective technological controls, and strengthen specialized education.

With the latter, he announced that the UASD has made itself available to the State to teach road safety courses nationwide.

In addition, he highlighted the role of the “citizen biker”, indicating that “the biker is not only a road user, but an active citizen with rights and responsibilities within the public space.”

The human factor also occupied an important place in the conversation. Psychologist Ofelia Mera addressed the problem by warning that on-the-road behavior is closely linked to a driver’s personality and cognitive abilities.

“Traffic psychology involves all the psychological processes linked to traffic, mobility and transportation, building an emerging area necessary to face social insecurity, since it integrates human, technical, and social factors for the prevention of accidents,” Mera explained.

He stressed that the perception of risk is fundamental in decision-making when driving, defining it as a “cognitive-emotional process, through which traffic users interpret, assess the probability of suffering the accident, and the magnitude and consequences.”

In this sense, the expert Franklin Glass addressed the challenge from the lack of financial protection. Glass compared the perception of risk in the face of Covid-19 with road accidents: while the pandemic confined the country for 4,200 deaths in a year and a half, “annually we are registering 3400 deaths” in traffic without this stopping the economy.

Glass revealed that “only 38%” have insurance. To change this panorama, he proposed developing accessible policies tailored to motorcyclists that cover health, life, accident, and theft risks for their work tools.

The congress closed with an emergency response drill by the Civil Defense. During the event, the contribution of personalities such as Maribel Bellapart, Miguel Franjul, and Yindhira Taveras was recognized.