QCOSTARICA — While a good number of Costa Ricans and the current government are concerned about drug trafficking, organized crime, and the record number of homicides, a silent epidemic is advancing at high speed on our roads.
Costa Rica is literally experiencing a bloodbath due to traffic accidents.
In 2022, the country registered 847 people who died at the scene of traffic accidents due to excessive speeding, among other causes, last year the figure rose to 855, according to statistics from the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), the judicial agency that investigates all deaths and the Polidica de Transito, (Traffic Police).
The figures are the second and third largest on record in the history of Costa Rica; 2016 holds the record with 890 deaths on the roads.
Up to this point in the year, the number of fatalities has been consistent with the figures from the previous two years. Over the weekend, nearly a dozen deaths were reported on the roads.
These figures do not account for the individuals who sustained injuries in the accident and ultimately did not survive after.
It is clear that there is a trend.
“Right now, we have a silent epidemic. Fatalities are increasing and nothing the State has done so far has even managed to contain it,” David Gómez, a Sustainable Mobility consultant, told La Republica.
Authorities view speeding as their primary adversary.
For the first two months of this year alone, more than 500 drivers have been caught driving more than 20 kilometers per hour (km/h) above the permitted limit. In Costa Rica, driving at a speed less than 20 km/h above the speed limit is allowed, but exceeding 150 km/h is considered a criminal offense.
“The rush to get to work, to the doctor’s appointment, to school should not be the objective that prevails on the road. In the first two months of this year, every 2 hours and 34 minutes, on average, a person was caught behind the wheel abusing speed, at least 20 km above the maximum limit,” said Oswaldo Miranda, director of the Policia de Transito.
Costa Rica should be focusing on implementing laws, increasing public awareness, and improving road design to enhance road safety.
Additionally, an increase in police resources is required and the implementation of an automated fine system through cameras is necessary.
is a specialized police force responsible for managing traffic, with fewer than 900 officers currently compared to around 1,200 in previous years. When considering administrative personnel, there is a limited number of officials available to patrol roads, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the country.
“More effective control is needed, based on multiplying the scarce human resource and using fotomulta (traffic cam fine) technology. Tightening laws is useless if drivers are not afraid of being penalized because they know that it is highly unlikely,” said Roberto Guzmán from Chepecletas.
The solutions
In addition to increasing the number of traffic officials to a level where ‘transitos’, unlike today, are visible, road safety education is essential to reduce road deaths.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of local or municipal traffic officials in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) and other large communities throughout the country. These officials work alongside the Policia de Transito, but their responsibilities are often restricted to regulating traffic within their specific community.
Among the necessary solutions to address the stealthy threat, which the media and the government talk little about, are:
- Speed reduction through physical interventions in infrastructure, which involves redesigning certain intersections and conflict zones
- Regulate motorcycles so that they comply with all laws
- Promote road safety education from preschool age
- Increase traffic police personnel
- The implementation of speed cameras and sensors, as had already been done previously*, to generate automatic fines for speeding
- Carry out operations outside bars and other places where liquor is consumed
- Higher monetary penalties for life-threatening behavior
- Loss of license for 3 years for dangerous driving
- Restrict speed in urban centers to no more than 30 kilometers per hour
- Communication campaigns that help raise awareness about the issue
Road safety above all. Costa Rica should prioritize road safety first by enforcing laws, increasing awareness, and implementing safer road designs.
*In 2010/2011, traffic cameras were set up in different areas of San Jose to monitor traffic and penalize speeding drivers and drivers not wearing seatbelts, with a focus on Parque La Paz, the Autopista General Cañas and the Autopista Florencio del Castillo. The program ended in less time than the time to install the cameras, due to “technicalities” in enforcing fines. While the technical problems were addressed by the traffic law of 2012, the program was ultimately discontinued due to financial constraints related to the cameras.
