In Greater Santo Domingo there are some traffic lights with cameras to catch offenders of traffic laws and improve the flow of vehicles according to road congestion, but they do not work.
Despite the fact that the vehicular flow grows every day, the authorities have not made allies of technology to carry out inspection tasks and not only leave them before the human eye and hand, with the lack of equity when judging irregularities.
The few cameras installed in the National District are from the National Emergency System 911 in its work to safeguard the wounded and assist in other events.
In 2018 there was talk of a traffic light that contained a “special” camera to capture the plates of those who violated the regulations by crossing with the red light.
That traffic controller would be installed at the intersection of Abraham Lincoln and February 27 avenues, but as of today’s sun there is still no tangible evidence of its commissioning.
The reality that is lived in different streets and avenues of the country is totally opposite to what is exposed by the organisms responsible for exercising these regulations or for looking for “Solomonic” solutions in the face of so much disorganization, which led to the viral phrase that it is regarding “ plugs per se”, used by the General Director of Traffic and Land Transport (Digesett), General Ramón Antonio Guzmán Peralta.
From those who ask for the popular “command give me a chance” to the arrogant who appeal to “you don’t know who I am”, part of the daily life of the agents who denote the lack of education that causes tension between both parties, since Drivers commit serious offenses that endanger their lives and those who share traffic with them, but the agents are not always aware of the rules that apply.
But just as many of the members of the institutions that work in vehicle controls turn a blind eye to the infractions that happen under their noses, their superiors do not act to remedy these failures either.
What happens on the roads of Santo Domingo?
Máximo Gómez, John F. Kennedy, 27 de Febrero, Winston Churchill and Lope de Vega, are some of the busiest avenues for thousands of people going to school, work and various errands. These are the ones that present the most problems of a road nature.
Failing to observe the red light of the traffic light, going the wrong way, more than two people on a motorcycle, turning without activating the signals, exceeding the speed limits and other traffic violations are the generators of most accidents with tragic balances.
Added to all of the above is the poor condition of the streets and avenues, as well as the lack of covers for the drainage and lighting systems.
Correcting these deficiencies in the roads corresponds to the Ministry of Public Works, the councils of the demarcations where they are located and the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD).
Experiment in 2018
In September 2018, one of the roads in Santo Domingo was put to monitor the flow of traffic through a “smart traffic light” placed at a major intersection. In the morning, followingnoon and night, this section has a monitoring system that captures those who violate one of the main traffic regulations: do not pass on red.
The then director of the National Institute of Traffic and Land Transportation (Intrant), Claudia Franchesca de los Santos, revealed that for a month and a half 150 drivers have been captured who have disrespected the red light of this traffic light.
At the moment of infringing this signal, the license plates of the vehicles in which “the violators of the law” travel are photographed and then go through a process in which the fine will be validated and sent to the offenders.
“We are in a time of trial. These elements will help us to know where the information goes, how the fine is validated, how it passes into the system and how it is sent to the violator”, explained De los Santos.
As revealed by the study, weekdays from 8:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the followingnoon is the time when the greatest number of infractions occur, contrary to the perception that experts had that these might be happening on weekends late at night.
During the second phase of this study, it was planned to place four more radars, in “black spots” that were identified on the Duarte highway; for being one of the routes where the greatest number of accidents occurs.
On that occasion, it was promised that following the test time is over, the Intrant will announce the areas where the radars are located, since it states that the intention of the entity is to make those who travel through the avenues and highways aware, and not fine them.
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Mayor says solution is sought
The mayor of the National District, Carolina Mejía, declared that the National Institute of Traffic and Land Transportation (Intrant) is working on the evaluation of a series of options and solutions to the vehicular traffic problem in the capital, following the editorial suggestion of Listín Diario, for smart traffic lights to be installed.
Interviewed on her departure to New York through the Las Américas airport, Mejía said that since the technical part of the Intrant has not ruled on the suggestion of installing intelligent traffic lights, she preferred to wait for it to do so in order to issue a statement to that effect.
