www.CostaRicaTicas.com

While riding in a van. Front seat passenger=no seatbelt=$350.00 fine. Is this true
Rear seats= Any fine for not wearing a belt?

Wait a few weeks and both the law and fines will change

Another factor is whether or not you have an important relative in the government.

Do they fine the driver or the passenger ? I have had a few passengers that I had to remind more than once to buckle up. That is disrespectful as it gets if they fine the driver not to want to buckle up knowing about these fines.

I always use my seat belt anyway but some guys are so hard headed.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

my guess the driver gets the fine as the taxi drivers make a big deal about you putting it on now ( I dont think they are worried about gringo's being safe)

double post

Exactly right. My mother died in an otherwise survivable accident because she wouldn't use seatbelts. It's an article of faith with me to use them and ensure my passengers do too.

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"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

Well besides safety or a ticket, the best reason for me to use one is an experience I had when I was 19.

I went of the road and got bumped out of the drivers seat. Before I could retake control of the vehicle moving at 40 mpg , I first had to climb back into the driver's seat.

I swear, I've done all the dumb things.

_________________
* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Seatbelts have saved me three times.

I got a "seat belt" ticket in 2006. It was just outside of Tamarindo. My chica du jour and I were wearing our seat belts in the front seat, but my wingman and his chica (in the back seat) were not wearing theirs. The chica's were arguing with the policia in rapid-fire Spanish, but to no avail. The policia wanted $40 to make it "go away". I told him to just write me the ticket and I'd give it to the rental car company and they'd take care of it. He didn't want to write the ticket, he wanted the cash, but I insisted. The ticket was 8,000 colones !!! Another muy tico moment!

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

A "FYI" post.

In my other life I'm also a fire chief/firefighter/EMT. I've watched well more than 500 people die in my 30 years....

**IF** your car has airbags you'd be a damned fool not to buckle up before you start the engine. The air bag deploys at about 200 mph, going from nothing to fully deployed to fully limp in less than 0.1 sec. It takes about 0.1 VDC to set off the charge and if it's not secrured inside it sounds like a 12 ga shotgun going off. I once witnessed a new "tool" to protect passengers in accident where the airbag had not deployed. The force of the airbag hit the deflector that was attached to the steering wheel. In 1/10 of a second the steering wheel looked like a pretzel.

Those are the facts; here's my observations. About two years ago I was first on the scene of a very minor MVA with RF bumper damage. Driver (father) and passenger (son). VERY minor damage. Son had on a seatbelt & had a very minor fracture to his right leg/knee. Driver was hit by the airbag as he moved forward. Snapped his neck, fracturing his spine at C1/C2. We were able to keep him going long enough to get his organs harvested. He had no other injuries.

Food for thought, guys.

/dddick

Here I go being a dick again but in my anger management class they tell me to speak my mind before it festers into a big deal. So now if I have to ask someone more than once to buckle up, I simply pull over and ask them to get the Phuck out of my car.

_________________
* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Like D-D-D, I too had another life wherein I responded to traffic collisions. Every Friday and/or Saturday night someone willingly sacrificed their life by (1) Drinking and driving (2) Failing to wear a seat belt restraint system so I could work overtime and earn lots of money.

When they crashed they did so twice, once against a fixed object which immediately stopped the vehicle and second when they continued to be propelled unrestrained within the vehicle whereupon they would strike a fixed object within the vehicle. Typically the collisions resulted in critical injuries at the very least but most often in fatal injuries.

While the unrestrained drunken-driver’s lunacy, albeit resulting in his/her demise, allowed me to work overtime and earn a lot of money there was a down side. Unfortunately idiot who drank-drove and failed to wear a seat-belt, also killed an innocent person. That was not very thoughtful.

Years ago while student pilot i was often forced to have a substitute instructor. After a flight with a old B-25 pilot i developed my own WW rule in regards to the shoulder harness and seatbelt.

WEAR IT OR WALK. Sorta became a rule around the airport. My rapport with that instructor kinda went down hill! lol