Nicaragua reduced the national highway speed limit from 100 km/h to 50 km/h, a measure widely mocked on social media as “ridiculous,” with users joking about going back to “ox carts.” The order was issued by the country’s co-presidents and spouses, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, in an effort to reduce traffic accidents.
“We need a plan where speeding on highways is impossible,” Ortega stated earlier this month at an official event. For private vehicles, as well as private and public freight or passenger transport, the new maximum highway speed is 50 kilometers per hour, according to a statement released by Nicaragua’s police and echoed in state-run media.
The announcement sparked a flood of sarcastic reactions online: “At this rate, we’ll ditch cars and ride bicycles,” one user commented. Others wrote, “Back to ox carts” and “Leave two days early if you want to arrive on time.” Motorcycles will be further restricted to 40 km/h and banned from carrying children as passengers.
“Commander Daniel has personally been communicating with Police Commissioner Francisco Díaz, making notes to prepare all practical changes surrounding road safety,” Murillo said in her daily broadcast to state media. Murillo added that the new limits will be tested in practice before being formally adopted into Nicaragua’s traffic laws.
One Facebook user on the page Visión Policial Nicaragua called the measure “ridiculous,” suggesting it would give police more reasons to issue fines. According to the Nicaraguan police, speeding is the leading cause of traffic fatalities in the country. In 2024, nearly 1,000 people died in road accidents, according to official data.
