Dominica News Online has received been informed that a foreign national was injured in an accident near the Canefield airport.
Information received is that the French visitor, who was accompanied by his wife, was driving on the wrong side of the road when he collided with another vehicle.
This is the second accident to occur in Canefield on Thursday.
DNO is seeking more information on this accident.
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Just a matter of interest. Why do we drive on the Left Hand Side of the Road. It started out in days of yore with sword carrying gentlemen. If escorting a lady, she would be placed on his left side. This would give him unhindered access to his sword located on his left hip,and travelling on the left side of the road ,keeping his potential enemy on his right side, made it easier to draw his sword and strike a blow in one swift movement.
This is the reason we always travel by your local bus, when we come on a winter holiday, we have no problems with the excellent service we receive from Roger. The drivers are to be commended.
i think that the car rental company on delivery of a vehicle to foreign nationals should remind them of the simple use of the road such as the correct side to drive on.
“HERE WE GO AGAIN.”
The headline states: “Foreign national injured in accident.” DNO also told us that it was a French national, accompanied by his wife, who was driving on the wrong side of the road; and that another vehicle was involved in the accident .
Right away some people assumed that the accident occurred because, in Dominica we drive on the left side of the road, while most of the world drive on the right.__ This may be true.__ But I have driven on the wrong side of Massachusetts’ roads. Not because I got confused with left/right side driving, but becaused the sign was not properly placed. But again, every Dominican is an expert in everything.
One more thing; Mr. Francisco Telemacque made some well-written comments. Some may not agree with him. (He’s entitled to make them, and you don’t have to accept them). But instead of commentig on his comments, someone began to attack him as well as others living overseas.
Lets be kind to one another. There’s much to learn from others experiences.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: IT would do Dominica much good if we post fewer comments on some articles/subjects.
Mr. Thomas, I am so accustom to our people’s behavior that I simply take the insults and their stupid comments with a smile; and occasionally brake out in a loud laughter, twenty minuets ago returning from Pasadena , with one of my grandson’s, I burst out laughing.
The boy thought I probably lost my mind, he asks what are you laughing at grand-pa, when I told him it was about some of the silly comments I have been reading on DNO, and recall a few of them out of my mind to him, he enjoyed the comments as jokes and burst out laughing also.
The derogatory comments of those people simply exposes the true mentality of some of our people, as long as a persons opinion differs from their own, they find it very easy to reducible, and find all sorts of names to call the person.
Nonetheless, have you noticed though their voices are loud, and they have the answers to everything, and every problem in the country not one of them has the courage to write a single line under their birth name.
The reason they remain fictitious is because they fear that their friends and neighbors will read the foolishness they write, thus discovering how shallow are their mind!
Here this: one day I submitted something on DNO, it was cleared, and posted, I was lucky to read my comments, and discovered I made an error, so, I resubmitted the correction, however, in the process DNO censored my the original submission to which the correction was intended.
All they may have read is the correction of which I quoted the errors and stated what I intended to say. You would not believe how many thumbs down I got on a three, or four letter sentence. I was amazed. I do not know what they did not like about the correction, since they saw absolutely no details.
Nothing beats that.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
It is such a easy to drive on the side u are accustomed too, just got my licence in the us and in the beginning my husband had to remind me keep right, cause I automatically moved left because that’s how I drove in DA. so thankful I had someone with me the first few times. I pray they are ok. Nobody helping the man. They too busy taking photograph. Humm
It is easy to loose concentration and revert to driving on the ‘familiar’ side of the road. It has happened to me on many an occasion driving between Germany and the UK.
It is high time that the authorities come to realize that we need proper signs along the roads. Especially for festive seasons like this. If we had signs every where that says KEEP LEFT, I think that could help tremendously.
You are so right, on wednesday I had An extremely near miss with 3 french people round a bend with full speed, I pulled out of the road and they instinctively did the same on the same side and by god I had to stop or the front passenger was going to die, my brakes held well and I really had to exhale a couple times I hope they enjoyed themselves and made it out without any further events.
just a genuine mistake. it can happen especially if it’s his first time driving in Dominica. its not his fault. atleast someone could have tried to stop him. thank God he is alive.
Oh, oh! So sad. When you come to a foreign country, you need to study the driving laws if you want to drive. You have to be very careful and concentrate.
this is why i ride the bus. no time to make mistakes
Are you sayting the bus is unable of making mistakes?
You crack me up…you know that…ride the bus???….so it seems that buses are immune to vehicular accidents ??. Really??
We need to impose higher insurance and likening fees on left hand drive vehicles. and They should not be used as renter cars.
Although I am a born Dominican, i get confused and many times find myself on the wrong side when i have a left hand drive renter car. NOw I always request that i get a right hand drive, but what about our other visitors?
These people are accustom to the left hand drive vehicle, so it makes it easy to gravitate to the side of the road they normally use.
When driving a right hand drive however, its a better reminder to keep left.
This is an issue, and it needs to be addressed.
are you stupid? HE WAS DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD. it has nothing to do with the vehicle being a ‘right hand drive” or a “left hand drive”…. in future please read and understand before posting.
Where in this story is it suggested that the vehicle was left hand drive
If that helps you to remember that is fine. However, everyone is not you and the idea of punishing people by having more restrictions and fees if they have a left hand drive vehicle is ludicrous.
Try posting some signs on the roadways instead. This is not an easy island to drive and I fully understand how tourists can easily become confused.
The car they were driving was not left hand drive.
That has happened to me a number of times. The other driver didnt see them either?
yes he saw them and tried to move to the other side
Their need to be more street signs on the road also for the tourist to understand…… am just saying
I will have to agree with that.
In almost every country in the world, including the continent of Africa, people drive on the right side on the streets, highways, and Freeways. Only in the Caribbean we continue to drive left side. In Dominica people like to talk about globalism, well driving on the right side is global; why not in Dominica?
I was here for a very short time; returning to Antigua, my former wife brother gave me a car to drive around, when I pulled out from in front of his house, I headed straight to the right side of the road, people started shouting you ” pan de rang cide.”
So, if I am an West Indian boy, kid from Wesley, did not remember to keep left, what happen to someone who was born in a foreign country, driving right all their born day arriving in Dominica; we are fortunate that we have not see more accidents occurring, and people (the tourist) getting killed while driving right in Dominica and the rest of the Caribbean, including St. Croix, and St. Thomas, I do not know if they have gone right recently.
Perhaps it is time for us to get on par with the rest of the world and commence driving on the right side of the street. You see, driving from California to Canada, and into Mexico, especially in Canada, sometimes one does not even know the difference. You only know you are in Canada is when you realize you just went past the check point prior to entering; you end up on the right side, and everything looks the same.
If we are into tourism, and we wish to avoid more visitors getting hurt that way, the alternative is to change the rules from driving on the left to the right side of the road.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
@Francisco Telemaque no we aint change we still drive on the left hand side and its going to stay so for a very long time.why change ? do know how hard thats going to be.thats what we acustom to.people who drive on the right side in their country just have to be careful to drive on the left hand side when they come to other people country .just like when we goes to their country we have to take the same precautionary measures
You see people fear changes, however if it is for the better why not?
When they decided to change from the left side of the road to the right in Nigeria, there was no long debate, or discussion, and publication about it.
It was simply announced one weekend, that as of Monday of the coming week people must commenced driving on the right side, it was automatic, and I cannot remember a single accident occurred during the early period of the change.
Since it appears as if we are becoming more dependent on the tourist for our nations survival, it might be wise to do whatever is necessary to keep the tourist safe during their visit, especially the ones who spends days on the island.
All this nonsense that some people are talking about whom saw, and who did not see the un-coming vehicle, are way off base.
One should realize that we have more winding roads in Dominica than any place in the world, except Switzerland, we are very fortunate that there have not been more accident among visiting tourist than we have experienced thus far.
Just a thought!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
you do know that they drive on the left hand side in the UK. The Caribbean was practically ruled by the British so it makes sense
What I found confusing,is that in St John, USVI, like us , they drive on the left hand side of the road,but all of their vehicles are Right Hand Drive. St John was once a British territory.
Francisco, is it still not the same as the British system? Visitors to Dominica must be careful. They apply for a driving license and they should be informed and cautioned about the driving system. Yes, sadly so, some accidents, injuries and death have occurred due to this.
Changing our traffic law to drive on the right-hand side would be a very bad idea! The confusion for locals to readjust would result in many accidents and fatalities, its not worth it to accommodate visitors.
Besides, a lot of other countries drive on the left, such as england and Japan. Generally speaking, countries which drive on the left use right hand drive vehicles and vice versa (exceptions such as usvi). So if the law is changed this would affect imports, since we get most of our vehicles from Japan.
I agree with you to an extent. I learned how to drive in the US so I drive on the right side of the road. Relatives and friends have told me that I would not be able to drive back home, I think I can but it is scary. What about the people that have been driving on the left side all of their lives? I think the best solution would be to have visible signs to guide those of us who drive on the right side so we can be aware of the road directions back home. I think a lot of the accidents could be avoided if we had proper road directions.
i agree but i think you mean proper road signs.speed limits etc. i’m driving into town and to tell you the truth i donot know what is the required speed limit in different areas. i remember a tourist saying to me “dominicans must be very well disciplined drivers cause there are no signs”
anyway i must say bus drivers are the most malcarsay drivers on the road ever! they stop anywhere without any indication,they move off anytime without indication,they over take anytime, anywhere under any circumstance.
I live in Australia, they drive on the left. I lived in the UK, they drive on the left. What are you saying? Copy the americans? Again?
I live in top rated city which has an extensive road network and a very high population, where cars are driven on the left hand side of the road. It so happens to be called London, in the United Kingdom. So don’t come and do as if we so backward in the caribbean why we still drive on left hand side. that is not even an issue in the Uk. Talk about posting signs on the road and making it safer. Typical overseas Dominican. Always finding a comparison with the rest of the world, namely America as if its better. I can never become like all you, even if I live in the UK. Even when they do wrong all you want to follow them and do wrong. Go get a better point on being on par with the world. And if you were bright like me, you would automatically know how to switch when you have too. Everyday, drivers from the UK go over to France and they do it.
Oh no no no no. I much prefer we stay a RHD country.
Many countries drive on the left of the many comers of the word, why are there so many people on DNO who state information without knowing the facts. Just to name a few:
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bophuthatswana
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Channel Islands
Ciskei
Cyprus
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Grenada
Guyana
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Lesotho
Macau
Malawi
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal
New Zealand
Pakistan
Papua
New Guinea
St. Vincent and Grenadines
Seychelles
Sikkim
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
St Kitts and Nevis
St. Helena
St. Lucia
Surinam
Swaziland
Tanzania
Thailand
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
United Kingdom
US Virgin Islands
Venda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Add St John US Virgin Islands to that list
u really a diot my boy you dont deserve the i in front the diot cause u to foolish to be posting that comment
It’s not expensive to show caution and saftey in the country. Make the bumper stickers and get the rental companies to put the tag in the vehicle.
.Please Drive on the LEFT side of the road.
.Pousser le côté GAUCHE de la route s’il vous plaît.
.Circule por la izquierda por favor lado del camino
i dont know if you have been driving outside of d/a but ill tell you some times you know it and as your driving you can just move to the next side of the road so am sorry for them hope all the people are ok
Sometimes when you realize you are on the wrong side of the road it is likely too late.
please be my PM
they have those in most of them
conduisé sur le coté gauche de la route s’il vous plait
condusez sur le cote gauche ed la route s’il vous plait
conduisez!! Imperative tense guys
Cautious, your suggestion is the best I have read on this issue, however, your knowledge of the French and Spanish languages is horrendously POOR!!!
Drive may have been absent minded.Not paying attention to driving in DA, which is on the left side of the road.’Big Mistake’
I hope he and his wife are not seriously injured, and also the other driver and his passengers. When these people come to Dominica, they should have pamphlets educating them on the roads and what side of the road they should drive. It is so sad. There should also be speed limits on the roads, because Dominica roads are not smooth sailing. Lots of twists and turns, up and Down, rivers and valleys, mountains and seas. Thank God it was on the flat road instead of over the hills.
Stay well and safe all Dominicans and Visitors alike. Dominica is still breath-taking, peaceful and visitors, please come again.
My thing is…Prior to this accident could fellow drivers not flag this car down…Or did they just look and not say a Darn word….
I think that the other driver could have pulled over to avoid the accident.
If a driver notices a vehicle coming in the wrong side of the road they should know that that driver may not know he/she is on the wrong side, but the one with knowledge should be the example. PULL OVER.