www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Maybe $10 instead of the $5 needed now. These guys make less than $4,000 per year in salary. If gringos keep paying them the $40-$60 to make the ticket go away they will simply stand around and watch for the next rental car to approach them and impose the "gringo tax."

A pay off in Costa Rica is $5 MAXIMUM. Look at the girls at SL who pay the security guard 1,000 Colones to let them know when their favorito gringo comes back from his date with another girl.

If we all pay attention and think in economies of scale we will all be much better in the long run for not overpaying and raising the cost of mongering in Costa Rica.

The new laws also incorporate electronic devices for the Transit Police to use. The theory was to reduce the corruption and monitor the tickets that are written as well as to increase the % of fines that are collected by the government.

Just because the price of the ticket goes up it should not effect the pay off to the cop. His salary has not changed nor has the amount of work he has to do. Paying him 5k colones should be more than enough regardless of the type of ticket to make him wait for the next guy.

I do not know the penalty in the new law for all speeding tickets but driving in excess of 120 kph (72mph) is automatic suspension of license, possible jail sentence, impounding of your vehicle, and a fine of around $400.00. 72 mph is only 24 mph over the posted speed on some pistas. I do not know of any state that has laws that draconian.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Draconian punishment is an open invitation for corruption. The structural and systemic failures of the constitution and structure of the government create a hot bed for the corruption to continue. It would be difficult to construct a system which would be less effective. But it makes living here interesting.

Agree heartily with both Brothers ID and DiegoC on the invitatation to corruption and Draconian aspects of the new traffic laws I don't know that NJ will impound your car or suspend your license automatically but 24 mph over the limit in a construction zone can get you a fine of nearly $1000 under some circumstances ( a school zone, say) and horrific insurance points. Fines here are automatically doubled in any construction zone even if no workers are present. Go figure. Other states doubtless have equally dismal outcomes. It's all about the revenue.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I also agree with Diego that draconian punishment is an open invitation for corruption in a number of different ways. Here are some of my thoughts:

1) While I can see where this law change could have serious negative repercussions for many expats living in CR, I don't think it is as consequential for most of us who are just periodic visitors. First of all, the point suspension system is basically meaningless for casual visitors. Secondly, most visiting CRTers get around by other means such as sticking to SJ and using cabs, buses or foot, or if they travel around the country use tourist shuttle vans, domestic flights or public bus. Those visitors that do rent a car still have fairly limited exposure to being stopped. Sure it certainly does and has happened that tourists get stopped by transitos, but the odds certainly go way up for those who drive around more regularly.

3) Personally, I haven't driven a lot in CR but I have driven around some. It has mostly been when I've been with others and needed a car to visit far flung corners of the country. So most of it has been on country roads, where I'll admit I have done some speeding. When I've rented I've also necessarily had to do at least some metro area driving at the start or finish, but I always drive much more carefully in city traffic. And, knock on wood, I've NEVER been stopped for anything.

3) Our best defense is that for the most part we're not the ones driving around like locos with a brick tied on top of our accelerator pedal. They almost invariably tend to be Ticos. Whatever the actual outcome of all this, it is clear that the real target are the horrible TICO drivers who contribute to CR's horrible vehicular accident rate. Drive legally all the time and THEORETICALLY you won't even have to worry about this new law.

4) The problem with that theory is the unwritten part of the law. If we drive any of us might get stopped at any time for DWG (Driving While Gringo). Underpaid and/or corrupt cops already see any Gringo behind the wheel as a potential shakedown target. With the consequences of any ticket being so much greater, the potential shakedown will also be much greater. And, whether its for a shakedown or just to make quota, who is a cop more likely to stop - a local tico who can't afford either the ticket or the any significant shakedown or a rich foreign interloper.

5) If the "convenience fee" sticks to just 10K +/-, most gringos would just continue to pay the cop on the spot rather than having to bother with paying a ticket (regardless of the penalty). But if the shakedown amount increases correspondingly to the increase in fines, at some point even the gringos will say enough is enough. Assuming, of course, it was a case of DWG rather than any real infraction, they might be much more inclined to try and fight it in court on matters of principle it nothing else. How sympathetic a Tico judge would be to taking the word of a Gringo driver over the word of the cop is another matter.

6) How inclined will tico cops be to issue tickets to fellow ticos who clearly can't afford to pay the higher fines? Will they just reduce the charge to some lesser infraction to give the "poor guy" a break or will they let him off entirely (after paying the "tico level" bribe, whatever that amount is). Because the fines have gotten so impossibly high, these changes could actually lead to LESSER enforcement of the traffic laws (in terms of actual traffic tickets issued). At the very least, I doubt that the CR government will capture any additional revenue from this though I'm sure the traffic cops will. In fact, the government will probably net even less because those caught will be even MORE inclined to pay the bribe than to pay the ticket.

7) While they may hope for it as a side benefit, I doubt the main reason CR gov't is doing this to raise money. The main reason they're doing it is to try to deal with CR's horrible accident rates. If the higher fines (or at least higher shakedown amounts) lead to more careful driving on the part of the drivers who are most guilty of reckless driving, then these law changes could be a good thing. If it leads to enforcement being mainly directed at Gringo expats and tourists, who probably constitute the safest drivers as a group, because they're the only ones that can afford it and/or the ticos who get stopped and wind up having their licenses suspended just continue to drive, then the law won't really acheive much besides making CR an even less desirable place to drive for Gringos.