Vehicles declared “totaled” or junked in other countries and entering Costa Rica (although prohibited by the Ley de Tránsito – traffic law) will not be allowed to pass the vehicular technical review (Riteve), says the director of the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (CONAVI) – Road Safety Council, Silvia Bolaño.
However, Fernando Mayorga, head of the Riteve* vehicle inspection service, said he has yet to received any directive from the CONAVI.
According to Mayorga, they (Riteve) have no way of knowing if a vehicle has been declared a total loss, this can only be filtered at the Aduanas (Customs) level.
Last Monday the law prohibiting the importing of junkers went into effect. The law imposed a fine of ¢1.4 million colones (US$3.000) to anyone doing so. The prohibition is covered under the new traffic law that went into effect last October.
However, once a vehicle has entered the country, the owner can then proceed to register the vehicle and the Riteve inspection certificate is one step in the process.
*Riteve SyA is a private consortium working under a concession of the Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transportes (MOPT).
