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 One
of the questions I get asked about most is "How is the driving
in Costa Rica?". Most people like the freedom of having a car
parked nearby for unplanned trips or just to know it is there.
In general, there is no problem driving a car here, but there
are things you should know to do this safely.
One thing to know from the
beginning is that these people drive like idiots! I have driven
in Chicago and LA so I KNOW a nut case when I see one, and this
place can be scary... especially in San José.
If you are visiting Costa
Rica, you may drive on the driver's license issued by your home
country so long as your visa has not expired.
This is important!
Depending on the country you are from, your tourist visa may be
as long as ninety days or as short as thirty days. Once it
expires, you cannot drive legally in Costa Rica unless you have
applied for and received your Costa Rica drivers license.
 As
with many Central American countries, there are no street signs,
often no street lights, no addresses, no numbering systems, and
with the exception of a portion of San Jose, the streets do not
run perpendicular to one another.
Add this to a
person here who may not speak the language, then add in a bit of
darkness.... and you can have some serious problems. Further,
there are often large potholes (and I mean LARGE ones) that can
cause serious damage to your car. Manhole covers are
occasionally missing, in fact there is one missing near my home
for more than four years now. If you don't know where
it is, it is almost impossible to avoid hitting it. I also know
of many locations where a tree will be growing in the street
(see photo below). Still others have phone poles (the 'don't
give' type) actually 4-5 feet out in the roadway (see photo).
There are also not a large
number of directional signs, and those that are here can easily
be misread.
Traffic lanes often simply
end, even on high speed highways, with less than 100 yards
notice. In the daytime, you might have time to react at 60MPH.
At night, you may well not see it until it is too late. Bridges
often have no guardrails, especially after you leave San Jose.
The drops can be a few feet or a few hundred feet. Be careful.
Rush Hour
Yup! We have them here
too, though San José and the surrounding areas are really the
only places I know of in Costa Rica where serious congestion is
an issue. There are simply too many cars and not enough roads.
Further, the existing roads are not wide enough to handle the
traffic. It is only going to get worse.
Bridges in Costa
Rica
 Bridges
in Costa Rica, while generally safe, can be very narrow and many
do not have guardrails as in the photo right. Often there are
openings in the road bed that allow you to look down anywhere
from 10-15 feet to maybe 200 feet.
In the daytime, crossing
these bridges can be very disconcerting. At night,
they can be downright scary! People, read that as men, often
think I am exaggerating or a nervous Nelly. I am not.
PLEASE be respectful of
the dangers of driving in Costa Rica. I am not saying don't do
it! I am saying that you must truly take your time, drive when
refreshed and not on a tight time schedule. Be prepared for
truly difficult road conditions in some locations.
Driving at Night in
Costa Rica
Driving in the daytime in
Costa Rica is a problem only in that navigating is a pain.
Driving at night with no experience can be a recipe for
disaster.
In many countries, there a
a zillion signs giving you fair warning of what to expect. In
the US, you sometimes are notified two miles ahead of major
changes and again three or four more times before you get
there. This is NOT so in Costa Rica. Here, roads end, lanes
end, curves appear, telephone poles and trees grow in streets,
and often a manhole cover is missing and left off for years! In
fact, there is one missing near my home that has not been there
for almost three years. In the daytime, the gaping hole is
visible. At night? No way! You just have to 'know'.
Some of the highways can
be especially dangerous. Many times, three lanes merge to two,
or two lanes merge to one. Bridges are often narrowed to one
lane. There is supposed to be a yield sign (Ceda),
telling who has the right-of-way, but often there is not.
So you can actually see
this stuff, here are a few pictures to demonstrate my points.
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Here, the Pan American highway into San José merges from
two lanes to one.
You approach at 60
MPH (yeah, right) from over a hill, and your first
notice is the Ceda (yield) sign, only about 100 feet
before the lane ends. There is little or no time to
react. |
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Here, again from over a hill, you have maybe 200 yards.
If you live here,
you know to merge before you get over the hill. The
problem is this is the main highway into San Jose and
often there is NO way to merge left easily after you
clear the hill. The drop off is about 300 feet deep. |
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Here, the lane simply ends! Not a word of warning.
Though hard to see in this photo, that unpaved area is
maybe two feet deep at the edge. While you probably
won't have a life threatening accident, your suspension
and maybe your front tires and suspension are history. |
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Ever
see a telephone pole growing in the street? This one is
in an unlit but highly trafficked are. Turning left is
an interesting experience if you don't see it until the
last minute. |
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Similar to the pole example is this beautiful street
with trees growing in it. While beautiful, it presents
a challenge at night if you don't expect it. |
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One
lane bridges are common. Most have a yield (Ceda)
sign, but many don't. Who has the right of way? Well
in this case, HE does. Might makes right. |
Accidents
So, you have an accident.
What now?
Stay with the car and DO
NOT MOVE IT unless ordered by a police officer. The law here is
that you must wait until BOTH the police AND your insurance
agent (adjuster?) arrive at the scene. No, that is not a typo!
As you might imagine, this
causes enormous backups, sometimes for miles. Oddly, Costa Rica
is trying to seek ways to save on gasoline. Seems simple enough
to change this rule so several hundred motorists are not waiting
for a long time with motors running... but I digress.
If you do move your car,
there are legal implications.
In fact if you drive much,
you probably will get into one of these traffic jams, so keep a
good book in the car at all times.
Driving
Tips
- Take taxis if
possible, especially at night. They are cheap and
everywhere. If you rent a car, which I actually recommend
for a better visit, it is better to not drive at night
until you get some experience.
- NEVER leave valuables
in plain view in your car.
- When in San Jose or
in slow traffic, do not leave anything valuable on the seat
next to you if the windows are open. A person can and will
reach in and grab stuff.
- Until you know how
things work here, I urge you not to drive at night. I
recommend not driving at night until you know the route
first.
- Keep your windows UP
while at traffic lights in San Jose or in very slow
traffic. The other day, I saw a bad guy reach through an
open window and snatch an earring right off a woman's ear!
This was in daylight at 3PM.
- There are traffic
laws here, but there are no police to enforce them. If you
EVER drive defensively in your life, do it here. Ticos
are... well ... creative drivers... and most traffic laws
are flaunted. Just because there is a red light, don't make
the mistake of thinking everyone else plans to stop.
- Be especially careful
of motorcycles. They obey NO rules and can come out of
nowhere. They also can be the vehicles used when snatching
stuff from you car through an open window.
- If you rent a car,
here is a common scam. Someone will punch a very small hole
in your tire or loosen the valve stem before you take
delivery of the car or perhaps while you are at a restaurant
or shop. You leave and maybe 30 minutes to an hour later,
you get a flat. Then, miraculously, some really nice folks
appear to assist you. In this case, assist means to
separate you and whatever valuables they can find.
- If you rent a car,
make sure you go over the car very carefully and make sure
the attendant marks down every nick and scratch on his
sheet. Failure to do this can result in huge adjustments to
your bill when you return the rental.
- Watch your gas! In
the central valley, there a a lot of gas stations (bombas),
but where they are is the problem. Few are advertised with
signs to follow. Do not drive on that last quarter tank
unless you know where the next service station is
located. Gas Stations, (bombas), while not scarce
in Costa Rica, are sometimes difficult to find. There is not
the signage here to tell you where to go to get gas. As you
leave the valley, gas stations are farther apart and may be
even more difficult to find. Check your gas gauge often so
you do not find yourself in an emergency situation when you
pick up your rental car (some do not fill the tank) and be
sure that you have a full tank when you leave the San Jose
or airport area.
- Pedestrians and
animals use or cross the highways everywhere, even
where the speed limit is 80 kilometers/hour, pedestrians,
bus riders, cyclists are to be found on the highways. The
highways around San Jose are notorious for people crossing
the road anywhere. Many die each year. While hitting one of
them won't be your fault, it will ruin your time in Costa
Rica.
- Night Driving on the
highway should be avoided for the same reason unless you
have visited Costa Rica and know how things are here.
Additionally, in the mountains, domestic and wild animals
often choose to sleep on the paved highway because it has
retained heat from the afternoon sun. This condition is not
prevalent along the coast highway, but always use caution
especially when vision is limited.
- Passing Slower
Traffic is a national sport in Costa Rica. Many large trucks
and busses, along with an assortment of ancient vehicles
(usually pickup trucks) travel the highways at speeds well
below the posted limit, especially in the mountains.
The mountain roads and highways provide very limited
opportunity for passing and caution should be used. Exercise
caution in your own passing strategy and be constantly aware
of local drivers, most of whom are averse to following
slow-moving traffic. This applies to cars, trucks and
busses. Defensive driving is a must.
Price of
Gasoline
Like every other country,
Costa Rica is affected by rising gasoline prices. As of June,
2008, the price of a US gallon of gas is a bit over $5.00. It is
heading up!
Further, the government
has placed travel restrictions on who and where a person can
drive while in Costa Rica. Currently, this mostly affects the
San Jose area, but the government is talking about making these
rules nation wide. |
Fleet