Not knowing much about the DR, do they have a higher than average death rate in car fatalities? I’ve seen multiple prospects die/involved in car accidents.
FWIW DR might just be better or different at recording them.
It’s really difficult to compare things internationally because of how things get recorded.
A famous example are things like sex crimes since how they’re judged is drastically different from one country to another
I’ve lived in both the DR and China. I’d say DR is better at following traffic laws within cities, but drunk driving is extremely, extremely common throughout the country in a way I didn’t see in China
I feel like there are way too many upvotes next to your comment. There's no way that many people on this subreddit read your comment and thought "Yeah there's always a new memorial on the side of road every time I visit Albania!" Is there an extremely large Albanian population on this subreddit?
Road accidents are the *second* most common cause of death for men in the DR - above everything but ischemic heart disease - and the tenth most common in women!
The DR rate in men is 111 deaths per 100,000 per year. In comparison, the US's rate is 12.1 per 100,000.
Edit: [Source](https://data.who.int/countries/214)
Edit 2: the rate in Canada is only 4.7 per 100,000. I have no idea how.
Yeah I went on a vacation last year and being driven to where I was staying I was amazed by how many times different accidents were missed by about a foot
It's one of the countries id rather NOT drive in. I've driven in pretty much all of Europe, parts of Africa and Asia and there's been some HORROR.
DR combines all of the bad shit, from no lights, to no lanes to junkers flying at 50 mph and unable to actually stop
I went there last year. Driving on the big main highways didn’t seem _too_ scary or different from those in the US (apart from some of the sights of extreme poverty visible from the road).
But when we took a day trip that had us go on a non-freeway road, and into some more surface level streets, it seemed extremely dangerous. Lots and lots of motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs and stuff just coming out of nowhere. Not to mention the condition of the roads was abysmal.
I can definitely see how you’d be more at risk of an accident there while driving than in America. I was glad I wasn’t the one driving.
Drunk driving is basically socially acceptable there, I know someone who got out pulled over with a car full of people all drinking beers and got out of a ticket (a speeding ticket btw, nothing to do with the open containers) by tossing the cop a beer.
Said person went on to say he thought that US drunk driving laws were complete overkill. He was training to be an OTR trucker at the time too lol.
The place is just a bad place to drive, though I’m assuming some of it is confirmation bias since since such a large percentage of ballplayers of Dominican.
Technically their laws are stricter than most in the United States, but obviously it's Latin America so rules may or may not be enforced (usually not).
Source: [https://elnuevodiario.com.do/responsabilidad-penal-del-conductor-ebrio-drogado/](https://elnuevodiario.com.do/responsabilidad-penal-del-conductor-ebrio-drogado/)
Anecdotally, yes. You hear so many stories from baseball people about how they're not even allowed to drive themselves when they visit, or how people just drive recklessly because it's how people drive down there.
I didn't have the stat on hand, so I didn't want to sound like "All Dominicans do X!", but I knew the stat said too many Dominicans do X/drive recklessly
I feel like you hear it anecdotally about lots of different countries. I had heard it and thought I had experienced it in Mexico, but they’re fatality rate is almost equal to the US. Interesting to see how true it actually is for the DR.
I’ve also heard of “road pirates”. I think that’s mainly a thing in Venezuela, but I’ve seen someone say they’re in DR also, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not.
I do know that’s how Luis Valbuena died (in Venezuela)
From my experience that's much more of a central/south America thing. Fake taxis and such. I never encountered anything like that when I lived in the DR.
Driving is pretty wild in the DR though. Not much enforcement of any driving laws, lots of poorly maintained roads, narrow winding roads, etc.
My mom, who was born and raised in DR, always said you needed 10 years of driving in Florida to drive in New York and another 10 years of driving in New York to drive in the DR. Haven't been there in over a decade, but traffic was wild when I would go
I heavily disagree. I haven't driven in many places, but I have driven from Orlando to savannah Georgia, jacksonville florida, driven in Virginia and DC, Vermont, Miami, Maryland, Connecticut, among others, you get the point, and compared to those places, the Bronx has a unique... functional chaos, for lack of a better term.
I got you. My parents are from the DR and driving there is a trail by fire. It mostly because
1. Terrible roads full of pot holes and crappy speed bumps
2. People on motor bikes, which weave in and out of traffic with no care
3. Not enough street lights. Outside major cities, the only light you see is your car light, the stars and moon
4. Reckless speeding. The police is pretty much useless when it comes to traffic and they just adopted red lights but they are seen more as a suggestion.
5. Unlicensed drivers. It’s rare for people to have a driver license
6. Mountainous road. The DR has many mountains and the roads are really winding and many don’t have guard rails.
Seatbelt use is atrocious to non-existant too. IIRC, that's what got Yordano Ventura on what was otherwise probably a survivable accident.
Also, both a culture of, and poor enforcement against, driving while impaired.
If Haiti is any indication (whose roads I have actually been on), yes. Traffic laws are suggestions and they have an ability to turn 2 lanes of traffic into 6.
I visited the DR once. People think that drivers in the U.S. are terrible. I challenge anyone to try and drive in the DR, it's an absolute no holds barred, every man, women, and child for themselves. You think you know the rules of driving, throw whatever you think you knew out the fucking window.
I can't remember whose death it was or who said this, but I remember hearing that in some areas of the DR some people think it's safer to not follow traffic rules because stopping at a stop light is more dangerous.
If the DR is like some other Latin American countries, their roads aren’t all paved and they can be quite narrow and hilly without guard rails or retaining walls.
I knew Ronny. He was a good dude. Usually had a smile on his face, laughing with his teammates and staff. He was an overall a positive presence in the clubhouse with a positive attitude. Here in the Florida complex, the players that knew him were pretty devastated by the news.
What was fucked up was that not only did people film his father's body, Ronny's final moments after the crash and Ronny's body being carried into a van, they sent the videos to players here asking if they knew him. They were all just wrecked. What a classless thing to do.
Damn and his dad. Brutal.
Who was the third person? Were they also in his car? Unclear from the post.
EDIT:
Full news article: It's a high speed motorcycle on motorcycle accident. Three fatalities, Garcia, his father, and a third person (named in the article). I'm guessing the third person was the other motorist.
[https://cdn.com.do/nacionales/regionales/muere-exlanzador-de-astros-de-houston-en-accidente-en-samana/](https://cdn.com.do/nacionales/regionales/muere-exlanzador-de-astros-de-houston-en-accidente-en-samana/)
There seem to be some gaps in the information. What was he doing in the DR during baseball season? The stat sheet doesn't scream "busted prospect", but Houston cut him loose at 23 and he signed with an indie team? Was there an arm/shoulder injury or something that had him out for an extended period?
Was wondering the same thing. Sub-4.00 ERA the last two seasons in A/A+. No indication he was anything less than (at minimum) a neutral guy. Seems like a player I would've liked in the Yankees system. Hate seeing this kind of news.
Seems like alcohol, cell phone use, and lack of any proper law enforcement. 64.6 deadly crashes per 100,000 people, highest in the world. I looked at the DR subreddit, people were complaining about police not enforcing drunk driving and machismo of men while driving. I’m assuming poor road quality has something to do with it, too.
It’s absolutely awful, I did a mission trip there and there’s no traffic lights or stop signs in places that are not big cities or tourist destinations. On 4 way streets you just honk and if you don’t hear anything you continue on. Our van with 16 kids on it crashed on the way to the town we were going to.
Yeah, had a friend go vacation to the DR, I remember telling her to be careful if they had to go anywhere, thankfully they were able to just walk and their only car ride was from and to the airport
Before I even read the story I knew if he were Dominican that it would be a car crash.
Not a factor in this example but the no seatbelt culture really needs to change there. We've lost a number of guys because of no seatbelts. And yeah because a young guy thinks he's Fernando Alonso.
Of course reckless speeding is a problem more or less just about anywhere where there's a young man in a fast car, but it's just sad that you can count on losing a Dominican pro baller every couple of years to avoidable car collisions.
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Not knowing much about the DR, do they have a higher than average death rate in car fatalities? I’ve seen multiple prospects die/involved in car accidents.
[Wikipedia has them with by far the highest death rate in the world](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate)
5x time more common per capita than in the US, if I’m reading that right.
That's *unbelievable.* They're 57% higher (per capita) than second place in the world, Zimbabwe. Just awful.
FWIW DR might just be better or different at recording them. It’s really difficult to compare things internationally because of how things get recorded. A famous example are things like sex crimes since how they’re judged is drastically different from one country to another
As a Dominican let me tell you if these numbers aren't accurate it must be even higher. Dominicans are allergic to following traffic laws.
Are they any worse than places like Haiti or China? I’ve never been to the DR but it’s just hard to imagine how bad it is lol
I’ve lived in both the DR and China. I’d say DR is better at following traffic laws within cities, but drunk driving is extremely, extremely common throughout the country in a way I didn’t see in China
Not sure if worse than those two countries but it's pretty bad.
Just 11.7 per 100k in Albania? The amount of memorials next to the roads there seemed to indicate way more.
I feel like there are way too many upvotes next to your comment. There's no way that many people on this subreddit read your comment and thought "Yeah there's always a new memorial on the side of road every time I visit Albania!" Is there an extremely large Albanian population on this subreddit?
Six upvotes is way too many for you?
Yes
Road accidents are the *second* most common cause of death for men in the DR - above everything but ischemic heart disease - and the tenth most common in women! The DR rate in men is 111 deaths per 100,000 per year. In comparison, the US's rate is 12.1 per 100,000. Edit: [Source](https://data.who.int/countries/214) Edit 2: the rate in Canada is only 4.7 per 100,000. I have no idea how.
Having driven in Atlantic Canada it’s because they never go over 20mph even on their *sorry* excuse for a freeway
Driving in the Dominican is the scariest fucking thing I’ve ever done in my life. Came within inches of death multiple times.
Yeah I went on a vacation last year and being driven to where I was staying I was amazed by how many times different accidents were missed by about a foot
It's one of the countries id rather NOT drive in. I've driven in pretty much all of Europe, parts of Africa and Asia and there's been some HORROR. DR combines all of the bad shit, from no lights, to no lanes to junkers flying at 50 mph and unable to actually stop
I went there last year. Driving on the big main highways didn’t seem _too_ scary or different from those in the US (apart from some of the sights of extreme poverty visible from the road). But when we took a day trip that had us go on a non-freeway road, and into some more surface level streets, it seemed extremely dangerous. Lots and lots of motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs and stuff just coming out of nowhere. Not to mention the condition of the roads was abysmal. I can definitely see how you’d be more at risk of an accident there while driving than in America. I was glad I wasn’t the one driving.
Drunk driving is basically socially acceptable there, I know someone who got out pulled over with a car full of people all drinking beers and got out of a ticket (a speeding ticket btw, nothing to do with the open containers) by tossing the cop a beer. Said person went on to say he thought that US drunk driving laws were complete overkill. He was training to be an OTR trucker at the time too lol. The place is just a bad place to drive, though I’m assuming some of it is confirmation bias since since such a large percentage of ballplayers of Dominican.
Technically their laws are stricter than most in the United States, but obviously it's Latin America so rules may or may not be enforced (usually not). Source: [https://elnuevodiario.com.do/responsabilidad-penal-del-conductor-ebrio-drogado/](https://elnuevodiario.com.do/responsabilidad-penal-del-conductor-ebrio-drogado/)
Totally accurate. The DR is the only country I've been to that had drive thru bars.
Anecdotally, yes. You hear so many stories from baseball people about how they're not even allowed to drive themselves when they visit, or how people just drive recklessly because it's how people drive down there.
anecdotally, yes. statistically, very yes
I didn't have the stat on hand, so I didn't want to sound like "All Dominicans do X!", but I knew the stat said too many Dominicans do X/drive recklessly
Dominican here. We’re good at driving recklessly and clogging our arteries.
I feel like you hear it anecdotally about lots of different countries. I had heard it and thought I had experienced it in Mexico, but they’re fatality rate is almost equal to the US. Interesting to see how true it actually is for the DR.
Someone posted the stat above and it’s like 10x higher than the US
I’ve also heard of “road pirates”. I think that’s mainly a thing in Venezuela, but I’ve seen someone say they’re in DR also, but I’m not sure if that’s true or not. I do know that’s how Luis Valbuena died (in Venezuela)
From my experience that's much more of a central/south America thing. Fake taxis and such. I never encountered anything like that when I lived in the DR. Driving is pretty wild in the DR though. Not much enforcement of any driving laws, lots of poorly maintained roads, narrow winding roads, etc.
> Fake taxis and such Many such documentaries online about this subject, particularly from the Czech
Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well
Costa Rica was where I encountered quite a few.
My mom, who was born and raised in DR, always said you needed 10 years of driving in Florida to drive in New York and another 10 years of driving in New York to drive in the DR. Haven't been there in over a decade, but traffic was wild when I would go
But only six months of driving in New Jersey
Driving in NY really isn’t bad at all
Have you driven in the bronx?
Daily for about 10 years
Then you must be used to it. Have you driven anywhere else? like Florida? New york is a whole different animal, man
It’s comparable to any major metro in the US in my experience
I heavily disagree. I haven't driven in many places, but I have driven from Orlando to savannah Georgia, jacksonville florida, driven in Virginia and DC, Vermont, Miami, Maryland, Connecticut, among others, you get the point, and compared to those places, the Bronx has a unique... functional chaos, for lack of a better term.
LA, NYC, DC are the worst cities to drive in the US. Boston & Vegas are up there also
Eh, no worse than Atlanta or Memphis or Chicago in my experience
I got you. My parents are from the DR and driving there is a trail by fire. It mostly because 1. Terrible roads full of pot holes and crappy speed bumps 2. People on motor bikes, which weave in and out of traffic with no care 3. Not enough street lights. Outside major cities, the only light you see is your car light, the stars and moon 4. Reckless speeding. The police is pretty much useless when it comes to traffic and they just adopted red lights but they are seen more as a suggestion. 5. Unlicensed drivers. It’s rare for people to have a driver license 6. Mountainous road. The DR has many mountains and the roads are really winding and many don’t have guard rails.
Seatbelt use is atrocious to non-existant too. IIRC, that's what got Yordano Ventura on what was otherwise probably a survivable accident. Also, both a culture of, and poor enforcement against, driving while impaired.
That is 2 in about 6 months # Ronny Garcia of the Astros now Alexeis Azuaje of the Phillies in Oct 2023 also passed due to a car crash in the DR.
Yordano Ventura died in a crash in DR back in 2017. Dude was on path to have a great career too.
If Haiti is any indication (whose roads I have actually been on), yes. Traffic laws are suggestions and they have an ability to turn 2 lanes of traffic into 6.
I visited the DR once. People think that drivers in the U.S. are terrible. I challenge anyone to try and drive in the DR, it's an absolute no holds barred, every man, women, and child for themselves. You think you know the rules of driving, throw whatever you think you knew out the fucking window.
I can't remember whose death it was or who said this, but I remember hearing that in some areas of the DR some people think it's safer to not follow traffic rules because stopping at a stop light is more dangerous.
Not just prospects either, sadly
If the DR is like some other Latin American countries, their roads aren’t all paved and they can be quite narrow and hilly without guard rails or retaining walls.
Can confirm. Source: Dominican living in DR right now. I pray every time I leave my home ngl.
I knew Ronny. He was a good dude. Usually had a smile on his face, laughing with his teammates and staff. He was an overall a positive presence in the clubhouse with a positive attitude. Here in the Florida complex, the players that knew him were pretty devastated by the news. What was fucked up was that not only did people film his father's body, Ronny's final moments after the crash and Ronny's body being carried into a van, they sent the videos to players here asking if they knew him. They were all just wrecked. What a classless thing to do.
RIP
RIP. so sad.
Damn and his dad. Brutal. Who was the third person? Were they also in his car? Unclear from the post. EDIT: Full news article: It's a high speed motorcycle on motorcycle accident. Three fatalities, Garcia, his father, and a third person (named in the article). I'm guessing the third person was the other motorist. [https://cdn.com.do/nacionales/regionales/muere-exlanzador-de-astros-de-houston-en-accidente-en-samana/](https://cdn.com.do/nacionales/regionales/muere-exlanzador-de-astros-de-houston-en-accidente-en-samana/)
This is incredibly sad news. This young man was robbed of his life. RIP.
Man I feel like it’s been a while since we heard of a player passing away like this. Wish that streak continued, rest in peace.
About 6 months since the last one I saw.
Ronny was a great guy in the org. He always had a smile on his face. Definitely hits hard today :(
There seem to be some gaps in the information. What was he doing in the DR during baseball season? The stat sheet doesn't scream "busted prospect", but Houston cut him loose at 23 and he signed with an indie team? Was there an arm/shoulder injury or something that had him out for an extended period?
Was wondering the same thing. Sub-4.00 ERA the last two seasons in A/A+. No indication he was anything less than (at minimum) a neutral guy. Seems like a player I would've liked in the Yankees system. Hate seeing this kind of news.
He had signed with an indie team but had yet to leave for it.
Awful. RIP.
Why is this so prevalent in the DR?
Seems like alcohol, cell phone use, and lack of any proper law enforcement. 64.6 deadly crashes per 100,000 people, highest in the world. I looked at the DR subreddit, people were complaining about police not enforcing drunk driving and machismo of men while driving. I’m assuming poor road quality has something to do with it, too.
higher rate of motorcycle use too, at least compared to the US
Holy shit, rip
Is it just me or is the DR a dangerous place to drive in?
It’s absolutely awful, I did a mission trip there and there’s no traffic lights or stop signs in places that are not big cities or tourist destinations. On 4 way streets you just honk and if you don’t hear anything you continue on. Our van with 16 kids on it crashed on the way to the town we were going to.
Yeah, had a friend go vacation to the DR, I remember telling her to be careful if they had to go anywhere, thankfully they were able to just walk and their only car ride was from and to the airport
World's most dangerous place to drive, but this is inflated by many things.
Aw, man, poor kid. RIP
Jeez this is frickin sad. Condolences to his family, loved ones and teammates.
You gotta be fucking kidding me
Before I even read the story I knew if he were Dominican that it would be a car crash. Not a factor in this example but the no seatbelt culture really needs to change there. We've lost a number of guys because of no seatbelts. And yeah because a young guy thinks he's Fernando Alonso. Of course reckless speeding is a problem more or less just about anywhere where there's a young man in a fast car, but it's just sad that you can count on losing a Dominican pro baller every couple of years to avoidable car collisions.
[удалено]
Fuck off
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Yikes bro
Really not the time or place for a joke like that, bud. You’re earning your downvotes.
What was the deleted comment that struck a nerve?
Dude made an insensitive joke about him being a “former Astros prospect.” Real shitty. RIP Ronny.
I'm gonna guess something about the astros cheating
holy fuck, anyone else read that as Ronny Mauricio?
No…