QCOSTARICA – The rainy season is upon us. Well almost. In the next couple of weeks, the Central Valley, the most populous area of the country, will officially enter the rainy season.
And with that, it brings more “road incidents”.
For that reason, the Policia de Transito (Traffic Police) is preparing for a busy period of adjustment, providing a series of recommendations to drivers ahead of the start of the rainy season.
Among the messages by the Policia de Transito is a reminder to drivers that pedestrians have priority on the road. Although they have priority, pedestrians are recommended to wear light-colored and reflective (at night) clothing for enhanced visibility.
Alberto Barquero, chief of the traffic police, recommended that drivers slow down, turn on the lights if the weather conditions warrant it, and motorcyclists, avoid going over manhole and sewer grate covers.
The rainy season increased incidents due to lack of visibility and drivers not slowing down, especially on wet roads.
In addition, this is the first rainy season, after two years of vehicular restrictions due to the pandemic, resulting in an exponential increase of vehicles on the roads in the past couple of months and with that “incidents”.
According to data from the Policia de Transito and Ministry of Transport, for the first time since 2001, for the first quarter of the year, there have been more than 40 deaths per month – that is more than one a day –Â for a total of 145 road deaths so far this year.
This number is only of the deaths occurring on scene.
In most cases, the major cause of the fatal incidents is reckless driving.