The request was made to allow legislators more time to discuss the amendments to the reformed law that introduces heavy fine, loss of license and jail time, before it takes effect.

Andrea Morales is asking fellow legislators to postpone the implementation of the law until March 2010.

"Some fellow legislators are an in agreement of the postponement as they have realized that there is now way to approve the amendments before the September 23 deadline", said Morales.

The amendments are crucial, according to Morales, to fix the errors in the legislation approved last December, errors that could see the law challenged and possibly struck down.

The only provisions of the new Ley de Tránsito in place are the sanctions against drunk  driving that makes it a criminal offence to be behind the wheel with a blood alcohol content of 0.75 and higher.

That section of the law went into effect last December, immediately after legislators approved the law.

The postponement would not push back the drunk driving sanctions.

One of the main problems of the new traffic law is the numbering of the sections and articles. Morales said that unless that error, among many others, is fixed the traffic laws will remain in limbo.

"What a shame it is the inability to give this country a traffic law. I did not vote for the new law coming into effect as it was clear that it was full of errors", said Jorge Eduardo Sánchez, legislator for the PUSC party.