Transport Ministry adding more traffic cameras to Costa Rica’s highways

An additional 150 cameras will be placed along national roadways during the next 24 months, the Transportation and Public Works Ministry (MOPT) announced Monday. According to MOPT, the cameras will be used to monitor highways and improve vigilance of drivers in violation of speed and transit laws, such as driving on days that are restricted by license plate numbers.

The cameras will be operated by MOPT and telecommunications company Radiográfica Costarricense S.A. (RACSA). According to RACSA, drivers observed violating traffic laws by the cameras will be notified of infractions and fines via e-mail, a letter to their home address or in the official government daily La Gaceta every 15 days.

“More than a million e-mail addresses will be created using the names of the drivers registered in COSEVI (Roadway Safety Council) as well as the owners of vehicles in the transportation registry,” said Henry Fuentes, the director of networks and systems for RACSA. “We are doing this to use RACSA’s technology to provide a service to the population that will result in fewer accidents on national highways.”

Currently there are only 12 cameras monitoring the country’s five largest highways.