Traffic in Costa Rica has worsened recently due to construction work, lack of planning by authorities, and limited or nonexistent public transportation options.
However, the traffic police revealed that there is another problem aggravating the country’s road congestion. Traffic Police statistics indicate that between 100 and 150 traffic accidents considered minor are attended to daily. These are collisions with material damage and no injuries.
In fact, many of them are rear-end collisions that tend to happen while people are stuck in traffic. Authorities assure that these incidents are dealt with in the shortest possible time for quick mobilization.
“To contribute to a reduction in the number of crashes, the nearest officer will immediately go to the scene to pick it up in the shortest possible time,” said Andrea Briceño, a traffic officer.
Briceño pointed out that in the country, a “law of the strongest” behavior prevails. Many drivers try to force their way through to get ahead quickly, causing more accidents. Authorities call for courtesy and patience on the road to avoid this type of accidents, which, they point out, are preventable.
They also remind drivers that insurance companies have launched an alternative to reconcile in case of collisions without injuries, which allows speeding up the processes.
Traffic officers also mentioned that they will reinforce the presence of officers on the route that connects Los Hatillos with Route 27. This is due to the disrespect of drivers to the channeling island that generates a clog at this point.
“This is an example of disrespecting traffic laws and whoever does it earns a fine. But if there is no presence of officers, drivers do not respect it. So, presence of traffic police will avoid congestion in the area,” he said.
Just this Wednesday, with the support of Aerial Surveillance of the Ministry of Security, the MOPT managed to monitor the different roads of the capital from the air to reinforce and attend those points of greater congestion.
“It will be monitored in the morning and in the afternoon, to collaborate in reducing congestion. Circunvalación and the surroundings of Juan Pablo II are some of the monitored points,” informed the MOPT.