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It’s been a few days since I found out about the death of a neighbor’s dog in a Casa de Campo road. A driver hit the dog during its daily morning walk with its human friend and after some agonizing minutes, passed away. A few days later, the thought of it still pains me. His death could have been prevented if only the driver were driving slowly and aware of his surroundings. A dog who was considered family to its owners died. Our community is concerned about the safety of our children, pets and our own while using the roads. Let’s do something about it.
Welcome to Casa de Campo — once you get in the gates it’s a different ballgame.
It’s no secret that the Dominican Republic is infamous for its crazy driving. In fact, we published an article about this not too long ago. But Casa de Campo is not just anywhere in the DR. It’s a residential area inhabited by a multinational community of individuals who are respectful to one another, on and off the road. We receive visitors every day who are unaware of the local “idiosyncrasies” and expect to be safe as well.
The roads where vehicles transit are shared by golf carts, pedestrians, cyclists, children playing, wildlife and our pets. We have all seen cars surpassing others in roads with ongoing yellow lines (meaning don’t surpass in that area — wait for the broken yellow lines!), cars getting dangerously close to golf carts and cyclists, and speeding going on everywhere. Once you arrive in Casa, you are expected to slow down, respect the signage, and drive slowly and safely.
Speed bumps are there for a reason — Slow down!
We all complain about them. We all secretly (or outspokenly) hate them. But yet, they are there for a reason. We should consider the speed bumps to be friendly reminder of how we should all do our part to take care of our loved ones… maybe this way we will start thinking about the speed bumps differently!
Cyclists & Golf Carts
In a car you are in a “steel protective cage” (more or less)… so its pretty easy to feel safe. But have you thought about how vulnerable people in golf carts and bicycles who share the road with you are? There is nothing around them to protect them in case of an accident! Slow passing saves lives. When passing leave at least 5 feet between your car and the cyclist or golf cart. Another car is coming and you feel like flooring it? Slow down and wait!
Put that phone down!
Guilty… Guilty as charged. I confess I text and drive. I call and drive. I pretty much do anything and drive (I multitask and I’m pretty good at it). But not anymore. I’’s my pledge to you — my Casa de Campo family: I will no longer use my phone while driving. Your safety is my hands as a driver, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize it. Please do the same — a split second you look away may be a split second too late.
Does your company own a car that transits through Casa de Campo? Put a sticker on it!
Residents and tourists are not the only ones that transit through Casa de Campo. People work here, and some businesses even have company cars that transit these roads. Most likely the drivers are used to driving outside of Casa de Campo with all the crazy driving that entails and you (business owner) are responsible for your vehicles and drivers. Please monitor their driving and ensure they are taking the same precautions you are. Want a sticker for the back of the car with a phone number for driver complaints? SILGON (publishers of Casa de Campo Living) will design a personalized one and print them for you FOR FREE! It’s our gift to you and our little contribution to make Casa de Campo safer (email me at ccampos@silgon.net with the request and I will gladly take care of that!).
All in all, we need to be safer, cautious and more conscious on the roads. Our children play on the street, our dogs walk with us, we ride our bikes, walk and run, we ride our golf carts, we drive our cars… let’s do so slowly and ensure safety for our families, friends, visitors and colleagues.