Q COSTARICA — A steady increase in traffic accidents and the number of people injured and killed in accidents is also causing the Compulsory Auto Insurance (SOA) premium to rise in Costa Rica.
This is one of the components of the annual vehicle circulation permit known as the Marchamo, and is calculated annually based on the number of people injured on the road, the severity of their injuries, and the amount required for their care.
This insurance covers up to ¢6 million coolones in medical expenses, if necessary.
Before the pandemic, the number of road injuries had stabilized at around 37,000 per year. This was recorded in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Then the pandemic hit, and the numbers fell during 2020 and 2021 because there were fewer cars on the road and less freedom to go out.
However, starting in 2021, the number of injuries steadily increases, reaching 45,570 in 2024, the year used to calculate the 2026 vehicle registration fee.
On Friday, Insurance Superintendent Tomás Soley announced the SOA amounts for the 2026 vehicle registration fee, whose collection begins on November 1, along with the property tax on vehicles and other costs (all part of the Marchamo).
During his presentation, he called what is happening on Costa Rica’s roads is a “massacre.”
“If something different is not done to stop this massacre on the roads, this phenomenon will continue to grow,” he commented.
For Soley, there has been nothing extraordinary in public policy or interventions to change the situation.
“If you keep doing the same thing, the results will continue to be the same,” Soley commented.
“This is an issue that can’t be resolved just because we’re worried; it’s a public policy issue that needs to be addressed with a comprehensive strategy,” he added.
Soley criticized the work, in particular the vigilance, of the Policia de Transito (Traffic Police), which is evident on the roads. He also noted that remote camera surveillance and fines are being used in other parts of the world, which Costa Rica has also been unable to implement.
“So, in addition to driver culture, it’s an issue that requires strengthening the more punitive and behavioral aspects of traffic,” he indicated.
Data provided by Soley indicate that in 2024, 505 on-site deaths occurred due to vehicle accidents. 53.6% of the fatalities were motorcyclists, the year in which accidents claimed the most lives of this type of driver.
Of the fatalities last year, 175 were due to speeding, while another 133 were due to lane invasion. In another 65 cases, the driver’s negligence was the cause.
An example reinforcing Soley’s comments is three deaths and four injuries in five separate accidents on the roads between Friday evening and Saturday morning.
According to official reports, it started at 10:13 pm Friday in Puerto Jiménez de Puntarenas, where a motorcycle flipped, tragically killing one person. Just half an hour later, in Coyol de Alajuela, a 42-year-old man was run over.
Close to midnight, a vehicle in Rio Segundo de Alajuela crashed into a stationary object, sending two men to hospital. Then, at 12:16 am Saturday in Las Juntas de Abangares, Guanacaste, a 72-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman suffered critical injuries after a motorcycle crash.
The early hours of Saturday saw another fatal crash at 4:17 am in Carrillo de Guanacaste, where a 26-year-old man died on the spot after hitting a fixed object with his motorcycle.
Source link
Rico
