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Lack of Signage Or
Demarcation Cause Of Many Accidents
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Lack of Signage Or
Demarcation Cause Of
Many Accidents
There are many reasons
for a traffic accident:
mechanical fault, driver
error, reckless or
careless driving or as
in many cases occurring
daily in Costa Rica, the
lack of demarcation and
signage by the
Ministerio de Obras
Públicas (MOPT) on many
roads.
Thursdays multiple
vehicle accident on the
autopista General Cañas,
near the hotel San José
Palacio, resulting in
one fatality, is a case
in point.
José Manuel Madrigal, is
the young man who drove
some 300 metres the
wrong way, entering the
General Cañas by making
a sharp right turn off a
ramp that is used by
traffic leaving the
autopista, causing the
accident that involved
five vehicles, including
a bus with 70 passengers
and a mini van carrying
three tourists.
Miraculously, given the
gravity of the accident,
only one person died and
all other injuries where
light not requiring a
transfer of anyone to
the hospital.
Notwistanding the
reckless driving of
Madrigal, there is no
sign to mark that the
two way road that leads
from the Sabana
boulevard ends and
becomes a one way
leading from the
autopista.
In Thursday's accident,
Madrigal drover the
wrong way from the
Sabana. His only
statement to the press
was that he did not know
the area.
The questions being
asked, could the
accident have been
avoided had there been
proper signage?
Residents of the area
are quick to answer,
yes.
One such resident, José
Cascante, said that he
has personally witnessed
drivers going the wrong
way on the same stretch
of road that Madrigal
took, on multiple
occasions.
Cascante is very vocal
that the lack of signs
or markings to indicate
that the road now
becomes a one way. "It
appears the MOPT
engineers are asleep",
said Cascante.
The person who is
responsible for signs
and markings on the
highways is Junior
Araya, director de
Ingeniería de Tránsito.
However, Araya was not
in his office to comment
on Friday and would not
be returning until
Tuesday.
Although an official
decision has yet to be
made, Madrigal could be
facing criminal charges
for his reckless action
that cause the accident
and resulted in the
fatality.
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There is not one sign or any other marking that this
stretch of road is a one way leading from the autopista
General Cañas, ending the two lane function from the
Sabana boulevard.
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