The Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL) – power and light company – says it as to replace more than 200 light posts each year, all fallen from traffic accidents.
According to the utility, the number of downed posts in traffic accidents were 259 in 2010, 234 in 2011 and 257 last year. In contract, the number of posts downed due to natural causes were 43 in 2010, 21 in 2011 and only 25 last year.
In cases of traffic accidents, the utility has to recover from the driver/owner of the vehicle. Although the CNFL does not provide numbers, in many cases it has to resort to the judicial process to recover a claim for damages.
Just last month a driver took down a total of nine posts in one accident, costing the utility between ¢50 and ¢60 million colones, work that for the most part is complete. (See story.) In that case, the mother of the young driver (the registered owner of the vehicle) has come forth to claim responsibility for the damages.
