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Strategy????  Honey it is all out war when you are on the streets!!!!  You need eyes in the back of your head.  Anticipate the unimaginable.   Be very very careful and also quite aggressive at times!

Funny (not) both times I have been hit by a car happened in the good old US of A

Bob K

I have one rule of thumb. Drive (walk) like everyone else on the road is an idiot.

Stan so true but still does not always work.  Sometimes not matter what you do the idiot wins

Bob K

What do you mean, 'on the streets' ? It's just as bad on the sidewalks!  This place has about the most ignorant drivers I've ever seen any where in the world.

For me the streets includes sidewalks which don't always exist!!!!  And you are right they are ignorant of the rules, common courtesy etc!!!! They do not care about anything or anyone.

As bad as they are, I can name many, many countries where it is worse. As long as there isn't any enforcement and education of the laws, then the situation will not change.

Ok. We can all agree it's bad.

i am curious about your comment that there are many countries in which crossing the street is worse than in santo domingo?  can you give one example?  are you referring for example to florida where there is an ongoing risk of being attacked by an alligator wandering around the city?

One place I can refer to is Lagos Nigeria. If you watch a F1 race the corners are taken from the outside of a corner cutting in. It is the same way in Nigeria, a 2 lane street and I am about to cross a T intersection. I look behind me and I see a car coming in the middle lane (far left lane). So you think it is safe to cross at the intersection. Wrong, as he reaches the intersection he cuts across 3 lanes including the turn off lane. For some reason it is common practice there. Don't compare everything to driving in the US or Canada. Every country  I have been to, I have noticed that the drivers as a whole seem to develop some unsafe driving practice that seems perfectly acceptable in that country.
I have been to Florida many times and the only Alligators I seen on the streets were the 2 legged variety.

Okay,  lets get this  back to the DR.  As I stated, driving sucks here.

Well guess thats why the DR is listed as the most dangerous country in the world in regard to fatal and serious road  accident.
But thats not the only thing, apart from the dangers another thing very irritating here is the absolutely ridiculous amount of noise,  yeah I am talking about these dim witted morons who drive around in SUVs with banks of loudspeakers which will strip your house paint as they go past..well slight exaggeration :-)
but they certainly rattle the windows and of course wake you up if having a little slumber.
Also these bikes with no mufflers are damn nuisance and have to say some Gringos here are just as bad if not worse, like these Harley types with open exhaust pipes Crazy noise with the vibrations so bad, sets off every car alarm in 100 yards. no consideration for anyone !
They can not behave like that in their own countries, the local cops would soon deal with them. but arrogantly think they can come here and behave like that!
Of course there are laws against noise here too but as usual rarely enforced...although I believe the Cabarete cops recently had a clampdown on noisy bikes, but dont know the outcome of that
Wish Sosua cops would make an effort on this...but wont hold my breath and in the meantime good set of earplugs will have to suffice...although even they cant defend against some of these idiots.
No wonder DR authorities now officially class noise here as a health hazard, but sadly as usual do sod all about it!

You are right noise is a huge issue here. In searching for a home or apartment it is certainly  something you want to  take into consideration. Noise can ruin the best location!

This is indeed true

This is indeed true
But searching carefully is not always a guarantee here either, of which I was painfully reminded some time ago when looking for place in Santiago. Area seemed fairly quiet, after visiting a few times in afternoon/evenings, but then after moving in, next morning was woken up at 5 am with half a dozen god damn roosters crowing their bloody heads off, quite amazing in a mostly residential apartments area ! and these things crow not just once but continuously for hours..  hated the damn things ever since :-)
Then at 7 am three brain-deads seemed to test which one had the loudest stereo in the neighbourhood...it was utter madness! Noise hell !!
Then found out 4 evenings a week there was a "Church"  operating, couple of streets away, Although it might as well have been in my corridor, the amount of noise it was making.
And the Nutcase running it was a religious maniac, he was ranting and screeching like a man possessed for hours, about "Dios, Diablo, blah bla"...
But by far the worst was some woman he had engaged singing religious songs, she was without doubt the worst singer on this planet, sounded like a cat being dropped on a hot plate, I tell you it was torture!

One evening I went round there to have a look, expected some mega-church with hundreds of people with the amount pf noise coming from there. I was speechless, was a small concrete shack and the speakers were 10 times bigger than the audience, which consisted of 1 mad preacher, 4 people and the lunatic Cat Woman... Unbelievable!
Only time I had a similar experience was in Thailand, but that was my own fault I failed to notice there was a mosque around the corner..just my bleeding luck!
Yeah well not really the kind of thing you usually look out for in a 95% Buddhist country, so I had to pay the price being careless and woken up by another religious ranter at 5 in the morning.
Well if they want to believe in a magic sky fairy it's their business, but why they have to tell everybody else at 5 in the morning at 110 decibles is beyond me!

Ahhh.. Those were the days..Mmmh, yeah right, best forgotten I think! :-)

So guess in reflection perhaps I should be grateful, its only Motos, loudspeaker SUVs and Harleys in Sosua...Mmmh,  On second thoughts, No I won't!

So yeah in 20 years of travel I can say without a doubt, this is the noisiest place on the planet!
Mmmh, now where did I put those earplugs??

actually the fact that these motorcycles make a lot of noise turns out beneficial in one respect:  at least you can hear them coming and try to get out of their way.  and remember that they are coming in all and any possible directions; and as the planner ominously stated "there is no distinction between the street and the sidewalk when it comes to traffic" (those were not her exact words, but i think that's the idea).

imagine if this army of motorcyles were equipped with mufflers to make them silent:  the death statistics would rise exponentially.

adding to your comments on noise level:  the famous elecetrician Nikola Tesla believed that by tuning into certain frequencies you could bring down bridges and buildings and even split the planet.  it's these bass speakers that are the bigger problem because they emit vibrations that vibrate the concrete walls of my apartment as well as providing pounding headaches and altering heart beat rhythms that could lead to a heart attack.

how do you know what a cat dropping on a hot plate sounds like?

the place to start would be to make certain you are not within visual distance of a bodega.

>how do you know what a cat dropping on a hot plate sounds like?

Mmmh Guess, I have a vivid imagination :-)

Anyway doubt the cat would exclaim something like  "Mhh, that was rather a bit on the hot side, old chap? Would you mind awfully, turning it off"

As for the bass you mentioned agree totally, those deep vibrations there is no escape from, even with earplugs! 
I actually a while ago observed two women in the sreet, doubled over with hands over their ears as it was so painful, when one of these idiots drove past. It literally is dangerous for your health!

These dimwits probably dont realise driving round like that, they will most likely be deaf well before old age....Now thats Karma for yer :-)

The noise level goes well beyond traffic and the noise in the street. Go to a cafe, store, OMG colmado to buy a bar of soap and the people play the music so damn loud. Honestly I love bachata and merengue but I don't need it so loud. The noise is everwhere and the loud music starts at 10:00 or earlier and there is no one dancing. Maybe 2 o 3 adult men alone with music so loud it will peel the paint off a car and your clothes vibrate.

When I came home to Florida I was amazed at the orderliness of the traffic and city streets. I am still amazed at the quiet here and manners of the common folk!!!

In Santo Domingo prayer may help to get to the other side!

I  just moved into a very middle class neighborhood.  I checked this location very carefully for noise,  I work  mostly from home so noise is not my friend. 

Well guess what,  my behind the house neighbors with the lovely high wall -  over the wall their yard is a giant chicken coop complete with roosters..... Yup early morning,  during the day and even at night roosters crowing away.............

You get used to it in a hurry.  I no longer even pay attention - unless one gets up on the wall and my dog goes ape shit!!!!

Noise is a part of the culture.   Adjust or you will never be happy. Do your best to cope with it,  to  find a quieter location but it is what it is and it is not going to change.

>over the wall their yard is a giant chicken coop complete with roosters..... Yup early >morning,  during the day and even at night roosters crowing away.............

Aahh ...see you had the "rooster experience" too :-)

>You get used to it in a hurry.

Yeah maybe up to point, but  even now every time I hear a damn rooster I wish I had a machine gun to hand,
But probably just as well I dont as there would also be lots of bullet riddled loudspeaker SUVs and tons of deceased Moto riders littering the road outside :-)

Good thing then you don't have a gun.....

The roosters are noisy because they are participating in areana fighting recovery. They are plucked out of their domain and thrown into the waiting transport that has silently arrived at the twilight hours. Then they are thrown into a frinzzied environment to represent a wager that expects them to win. When they do win they are feed. When they don't, they are starved for several days. It's big business in the DR. The very wealthy attend this event, and serious money is on the line. Many a rooster has taken the train from Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata in days past. Vagabons and the wealthy compete for a stake in a champion rooster. Así es.
One thought though,,,,one must appreciate that the caretaker of the recovery chaps hasn't hooked up a PA sytem in the cages, utilizing the refridgerator sized speakers. It is safe to say, the noise of the DR, is the DR. It represents the culture, the heartbeat, and the joy and pain, that parallel success and poverty. The other side is that many bennifit from the event that a rooster passes on to Celisium. Discounted pollo is silently passed to the hands of the hungry. 2 dozen eggs for 80 peso is not uncommon in the barrio.  The hens have their place also in the alimentisimo. From one barrio to another, the motos deliver these precious treasures to maintain a lifeline long ago established with a desire to survive. Some have tried the 70 mile oceanic journey to Puerto Rico, in hope for a better future, however the majority stay put and drown out the throught of a prison in paradise. They make their noise. They dance. They shout and the inner hurt reflects the desperation within them. The closer the extrañero gets to the native the less visable pain is seen. In truth we provide a glimmer of hope for the few who would benefit from our investment into this island. The closer we get to them the harder they try to hide their pain. They have pride. They are Dominican

Of course we understand all this and the need for them but we don't have to like the noise honey.....LOL

Your correct planner.....of course everyone knows of the observations I tried to share. Even those who have never been to the DR. I just enjoy writing.....so.......así es.

@ Groby>They make their noise. They dance>They shout and the inner hurt reflects >the desperation within them. The closer the >extrañero gets to the native the less >visable pain is seen.

Mmh never thought of it like that, perhaps you have a point there.
Guess sometimes we gringos forget how tough it can be here, and lets face it we have it cushy, there is at least a social security safety net if no job,,healthcare free for unemployed, etc   Here "Nada" as far as Dom friends have told me, Even the public hospitals in theory free, but  if you dont pay for your meds or food.. kiss you ass goodbye.

>In truth we provide a >glimmer of hope for the few who would benefit from our >investment into this island.

MMh yeah in that case it might help if they stopped killing and robbing so many tourists. Nobody wants to go home in a wooden box, like that poor elderly German in PP recently. With Internet these stories spread fast and tourist may decide to go elsewhere.