Second-busiest highway turns lethal

Santo Domingo.- Poor lighting and a lack of road signs are to blame for the frequent traffic accidents which occur mostly at night along the Las Americas Highway, and have claimed the lives of at least six people in the past three months.

Merchants, community and religious leaders, driver unions and others have been demanding the installation of road signs from the Public Works Ministry and, street lighting from the power company, EDESTE.

Most of the fatal accidents occur at the area dubbed "the lost stretch," that spans the exit to Caucedo Port in the west to the town of Boca Chica in the east.

The latest fatalities occurred Sunday morning when two men ages 30 and 22, after their motorcycle was struck by a car as they headed home after having worked as DJs in area clubs.

The barely 3-kilometer span of Las Americas, Dominican Republic’s second-busiest highway, after the Duarte, is full of dangerous crossings without traffic lights and a dedaly mix of tractor trailers and tourist buses.