From January to September, 2,439 out of 17,262 alcohol tests conducted in drivers were positive. This figure means that there is a driver under the influence of alcohol for every seven tests performed. 14% of people who are subject to the breathalyzer, a device used to see if the person has consumed alcohol and to estimate blood alcohol content, tested positive.
The statistics were studied by Commissioner Mario Calderón, Director of the Traffic Police, and he decided to take into account the positive and negative perspective.
In the bright side, 14,248 tests were negative (83%), which reflects that the vast majority of tested drivers tend to be sober, at least when subject to the test. Some tests were wrong and discarded. According to him, Costa Ricans should be proud of these results.
However, the commissioner continues to see the negative side because the goal is that no one drives under the influence of alcohol and it is clear that 14% of drivers are offenders and irresponsible.
It’s an issue that we’ve studied: it is valuable that most drivers do not drive while being drunk, but it means that from 63 daily blood alcohol tests, 7 are positive. Seven drivers under the influence of alcohol is a lot and we are aware that many others manage to evade controls,
declared the official.
Calderón indicated that those 1,765 drivers who were tested positive were referred to the Public Prosecutor. In addition, according to the Traffic Law, other 239 people tested positive, but the alcohol level was so low that did not require a penalty, which is 309,574.47 colones, as well as accumulating 6 points in the license point system.
In the first 9 months of the year, 36 people died in road accidents and driving under the influence of alcohol seems to be the main cause.