The highest fines of â‚¡306,850 ($533) will apply for drivers who refuse to take a breathalyzer test or for owners of vehicles causing noise above the allowed decibel limit.
Traffic Police Director Mario Calderón said that he does not believe the reduction in fines will prompt an increase in traffic violations, as they do not represent a significant change.
President Luis Guillermo SolÃs is asking the legislature to let him hire more than 1,000 new traffic officers, among other measures the government is pursuing in hopes of alleviating traffic.
Violations to Costa Rica’s Traffic Law will cost motorists an average of 1 percent more starting next month, after Costa Rica's judicial branch approved increases of up to ₡3,126 ($5.75) according to the category of the fine.
Traffic Police reported that 19 people died in drunk driving accidents from January through August, a 46 percent increase over the same time period last year.
Lawmakers revived the bill to replace prison time with monetary fines for blocking roads the day before private chauffeurs or "porteadores" protested a new special taxi regulation by blocking public roads across the country, snarling traffic.
For the duration of the two-week vacation period, Traffic Police will maintain 15 roadway checkpoints throughout the country and will designate a total of 744 officers, 152 police cars and 217 motorcycles for surveillance efforts.
The dollar closed at an average of 446.10 colones on Monex on Friday, its weakest level since the platform opened in 2006 and the eighth straight daily decline.
Starting January 1, 2027, banks, government agencies, businesses and other institutions in Costa Rica will be required to accept the Costa Rican Digital Identity...
Short, intense downpours, thunderstorms and gusts up to 80 km/h are forecast for the Central Valley, the Caribbean and the northern zone Friday afternoon.
