Experts caution against drinking this Road Safety Week

Road safety experts gathered at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD) drivers urged the country to abstain from alcohol, referring to the beginning of this Road Safety Week, sponsored by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (Amet ) and the Development Fund for Land Transport (Fondet).


They recalled the results of studies released by the Pan American Health states that the immediate effects of alcohol on the brain are depressants or stimulants, depending on the amount consumed.

They recalled that the Dominican Republic not only ranks second worldwide in higher rates of deaths from traffic accidents but is also the only country in the region which is not regulated the permissible level of alcohol in drivers, the Communications Unit of MEPyD reported .

"In any case, alcohol causes impairment of the faculties that increases your chances of having an accident, since it harms the ability of discernment becomes slower reflexes and reduced attention and visual acuity," according to a study the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The experts were convened by the Department of Infrastructure and Logistics Deputy Minister of Management of the National Competitiveness MEPyD, who invited among other participants representatives of the Presidency of the Republic, Amet, Fondet, ministries of Interior and Police Health Public, Education, Public Works, Environment and the National Congress and the private sector.

Also international advisers in the matter of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), including Antoni Riu, Juan Manuel Garcia, Claudia Fuentes, project director of the Road Safety Council of Costa Rica, Roy Rojas, and Pedro Centeno, who referred the design and implementation of a national observatory for road safety.

They considered vital campaigns to show drivers what can be achieved when preventive controls alcohol use on the roads is for your own protection and pedestrians are increased, because they decrease the number of drivers and pedestrians at risk, accidents and obviously deaths.

In the meeting, the experts shared with Dominican officials in this sector and the private sector best practices for creating a road safety advice Dominican Republic.

Also for the design and implementation of a national road safety strategy and the socio-economic impacts of traffic accidents on the victims and their families impacts.

Addition of alcohol in drivers specialists discussed the incidence of proven lack of helmet in increased deaths and motorcyclists escort type of driver who leads the largest number of traffic fatalities in the country.

They also discussed the need for the use of seat belts in the almost generality of the cases in the country to driver and passenger is limited in the front seat, knowing that if all occupants are buckling reduced by fifty percent risk die.


Besides the necessary measures to reduce these deaths, the experts stressed the imperative for any country aspiring to good results in road safety have strong institutions and resources.