Tránsitos Cannot Tow
Illegally Parked
Vehicles
Due to a recent Sala IV
(Constitutional Court)
decision, the Policía de
Tránsito (traffic
police) cannot tow
illegally parked
vehicles unless the
owner of the vehicle is
present.
Viviana Martín, the vice
ministra de Transportes,
assures that the only
option available to
Tránsitos (traffic
officials) is to issue a
fine if the owner if
nowhere to be found. The
vice-minister added that
of the average 180 fines
issued daily, only five
vehicles end up being
towed.
"We have our hands
tied", said Martín.
The vice-minister says
that her traffic
officials only rely on
Article 129 of the Ley
de Tránsito that allows
the issue a ¢5.000
colones fine and assures
that in many cases the
vehicle owners hide from
the officials to prevent
their vehicle being
towed.
Illegal parking is a
major problem in San
José, contributing to
much of the downtown
congestion, as vehicles
parked on the narrow
street impede the flow
of traffic or large
vehicles like buses or
delivery trucks from
getting by, creating
bottlenecks.
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