Prison for drunk driving
proposed in legislature
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The executive branch has proposed to increase the fine for drunk driving from the present 20,000 colons ($38.50) to 300,000 colons ($575), but one legislator said that this increase in not enough.
The lawmaker, Mario Quirรยณs Lara of the Movimiento Libertario, has proposed that those caught driving on a license suspended because of alcohol violation face from one to five years in prison. In addition to the fine, a driver now can lose driving privileges for six months. But most continue to drive, even sometimes drunk, because of the lack of enforcement.
Anyone who pays attention to traffic reports knows that motorists die every weekend and alcohol usually is involved. Oct. 7 a driver believed drunk slammed his car into one containing three young women. He fled the scene but the three women died. That early morning crash took place on Calle 9 at Avenida 8 in the heart of the downtown.
Those involved in traffic death cases usually never serve any time because the possible penalties are light. A man who was at the wheel when a boy, 10, was run over was freed on his own recognizance this week to await further action. Last year 329 persons died on the nation's roads and alcohol was deemed the cause of the second highest number of deaths after excessive speed.