COSEVI
In
Agreement
For
Lower
Traffic
Fines
In
December
2008,
legislators
passed
the
reforms
to
the
Ley
de
Tránsito,
which
included
a
lower
tolerance
for
drunk
and
reckless
driving,
very
high
fines
and
a
point
system.
Although
the
drunk
driving
provisions
went
into
effect
immediately,
it
was
not
until
March
1,
2010,
that
the
rest
of
the
last
went
into
place.
The
result,
from
an
administration
point
of
view?
A
nightmare
for
the
Consejo
de
Seguridad
Vial
(COSEVI),
the
department
of
the
Ministerio
de
Obras
Pulicas
y
Transportes
(MOPT)
responsible,
among
other
things,
the
appeal
of
traffic
tickets.
Since
the
law
went
into
effect,
there
have
been
more
than
85.000
appeals
filed.
And
bogging
down
the
process
even
more
are
constitutional
challenges
to
the
law
and
the
fines.
One
of
the
reasons
for
the
high
number
of
appeals,
according
to
the
director
of
the
COSEVI,
Hector
Monge,
are
the
high
fines.
Monge
is
convinced
that
the
high
fines
forces
many
to
appeal
just
to
avoid
having
to
pay
up,
either
buying
time
or
waiting
out
the
period
when
the
fine
can
no
longer
be
collected.
Or
for
decisions
of
the
Constitutional
Court
to
strike
down
the
high
fines
or
legislators
changing
the
law
and
making
it
retroactive.
Whatever
the
case,
the
COSEVI
is
inundated
with
appeals
that
now
are
taking
a
year
or
more
instead
of
the
few
weeks
that
an
appeal
process
should
take.
To
that
end,
Monge
says
he
is
in
agreement
with
lower
some
of
the
fines,
especially
those
for
infractions
that
do
not
endanger
the
lives
of
the
driver
and
others.
In
agreement
with
Monge
if
the
current
MOPT
minister,
Francisco
Jiménez.
In
first
instance
the
minister
shares
the
view
of
the
urgency
of
the
reforms
to
the
law,
adding
that
it
should
include
a
reduction
of
the
fines
of
"less
importance
or
risk
on
the
road".
Jiménez
said
that
it
is
necessary
to
hasten
the
discussions
on
the
reforms
currently
stalled
in
the
Legislative
Assembly.
Even
before
March
1,
2010,
when
the
law
went
into
effect
legislators
began
discussing
a
draft
to
reform
the
reforms.
However,
given
the
short
time
left
in
their
mandate,
the
then
legislative
body
left
the
task
to
the
new
crop
of
legislators
who
took
office
on
May
1
that
year.
At
first
it
there
was
a
positive
atmosphere
that
the
new
legislators
would
quickly
deal
with
the
reforms.
Drivers
began
to
take
the
attitude
of
"appeal",
as
the
law
would
be
changed
imminently.
But
weeks
passed
to
months
to a
legislative
commission
to
study
the
reforms,
meeting
once
a
week
on
end
to,
well
nothing,
where
we
are
today.
Jiménez
and
Monge
are
two
who
support
the
reforms
to
the
law.
But,
the
currently
legislative
agenda
does
not
make
the
reforms
to
the
Ley
de
Tránsito
a
priority.
COSEVI
and
MOPT
officials
argue
that
lower
fines
would
make
the
law
more
balanced.
Before
March
1,
2010,
the
cost
of a
traffic
violation
was
around
¢20.000
colones
or
us$40
at
today's
exchange
rate.
Overnight
the
fines
went
to
from
¢200.000
to
¢400.000
colones
(us$400
to
us$800)
for
the
same
offence.
Some
will
argue
that
stiff
fines
are
necessary
to
the
driving
public
to
respect
the
rules
of
the
road.
Others
will
argue
for
the
same,
but
for
not
such
a
high
cost.
In
the
end,
the
high
fines
have
created
several
problems
for
the
MOPT
and
COSEVI,
one
being
the
large
number
of
appeals,
the
other
increased
corruption
- we
are
not
saying
that
traffic
officials
are
corrupt
or
not
necessarily
that
if
they
are
corrupt,
that
more
transito
officials
are
corrupt,
but
rather,
the
cost
of
the
bribe.
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