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Since I came to live in the DR, almost 2 years ago I have been told many times that the road ‘regulations’ are more like ‘suggestions,’ which having witnessed numerous incidents of bad driving I have been inclined to believe, although I knew this was really just a joke.
What I have just discovered however, is that although there ARE driving regulations, one that is mysterious missing from the rule book is that of drink driving!
The photo above is taken from the official ‘Manual de Conduccion’ (driving manual), which in one paragraph reads:
“En muchos paises, es un delito que un conductor conduzca un vehiculo son una concentracion de alcohol en la sangre de 0.08grs/ltr o más.”
A ‘rough’ translation of this is:
In many countries it is prohibited to drive with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.08grs/ltr.
The problem is that NOWHERE in this section does it say what the legal blood alcohol level is for THIS country – and so it seems there isn’t one.
It does however, say that it is prohibited to drive when drunk, which makes sense, but as for deciding what exactly is ‘drunk’ – well that’s up to you.
Still don’t believe this is true? Click here to read all about Santo Domingo’s drive-thru bar!
NOTE: In this article we are merely pointing out a rarity in the Dominican Driving system, we do NOT in any way condone drink driving, if you are driving you should NOT drink, regardless of a lack of Dominican laws – drink driving endangers not only your life, but the lives of other people on the road.