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During the Festival of Palmares, six drivers were criminally accused by police |
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 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
According to the traffic police report, during the Palmares Festival*, 1.8 percent of the drivers tested scored positive for alcohol. Six of those drivers were far over the limit and were sent to the Public Ministry for a criminal case for drunk driving, the police said. The transit police fielded 84 officers around the Palmares Festival, mainly on the days with more visitors. That resulted in 1,572 drivers fined for different reasons, including driving without a license, informal transportation of people, not having the vehicle safety inspection or road tax updated, as well as improper parking. These fines increased by 40 compared to last year at the festival. According to German Marín, director of the traffic police in addition to the fines 118 plates and 40 cars were confiscated. These seizures and fines were registered from Jan. 10 through Sunday during the run of the Palmares Festival. As A.M. Costa Rica reported in December, the attorney general, in coordination with the traffic police, announced the implementation of new actions to detect and prosecute those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. According to Emilia Navas, the attorney general, any person who is arrested for the crime of reckless or drunk driving will go directly to prison. "I have told the prosecutors throughout the country that the way they must handle in the cases of people arrested for these events will change, which means that the person driving after having consumed liquor or drugs will be arrested, transferred to cells of the judicial police, investigated and processed," said Navas. Navas added that the investigation and processing means that all persons arrested for drunk driving will have fingerprints taken, will be photographed and identification information will be placed in a criminal file. Prior to this, said Navas, the procedure was to record identifying information and then release the individual without opening a criminal file. Now, each drunk driver will be processed and a criminal file will be opened, she said. The changes will give each prosecutor the responsibility of analyzing each case and deciding on whether to ask for precautionary measures. This is already established in the law. "The prosecutors and traffic officers have decided to work jointly to strengthen their policies regarding the crime of reckless and drunk driving, and we are aware of the seriousness of this criminal act and its consequences," said Navas. |
 A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo During
the Palmares Festival, 1.8 percent of
the drivers tested scored positive for alcohol. According to Marin, in 2017 458 people died in accidents and in 2018 415 people have died. There are multiple factors for each accident, but some include driving under the effects of liquor and drugs. According to the Traffic Law, liquor consumption limits established in the Penal Code equate to a blood alcohol level of 0.75 grams if blood is drawn and 0.38 milligrams on the breathalyzer. The penal code imposes a sentence of one to three years in jail for crimes such as reckless driving. This would include: - driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages with a concentration of alcohol in the blood higher than 0.75 grams per liter or with a breathalyzer test result of 0.38 milligrams for any type of driver. - a blood alcohol level of more than 0.5 grams in a blood test or more that 0.25milligrams on the breathalyzer if the person being tested is a new or a professional driver. This offense also applies in cases where the driver is under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotics, psychotropic substances or other substances that produce states of mental alteration and analgesic or depressive effects, according to the definitions, scope and characteristics established by the Health Ministry. ----
Should the police send all drivers with some alcohol record to jail? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com *Click on the blue letters to reach the place in google maps. |
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