By Wendy Anders

Last year’s mid-term July school vacations were dampened by 12 deaths, over 536 traffic accidents, and over 4,500 other accidents in just a 2-week period, stated the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in a press statement today.

This year, Transit Police will have 744 officials conducting intensive preventive operations from Sunday, July 3 – Sunday, July 17.

In addition to their regular patrol, police will do plain-clothes monitoring of buses, highways, and other high-risk areas; night-time speeding and drunk-driving monitoring because of the increase in night-time outings during this period; and special attention to unsafe bicycle riding and vehicles on beaches.

Mario Calderón, Transit Police Director, recommends that families avoid traveling in the very early morning and recommends people get adequate sleep before long trips to avoid accidents due to drowsiness.

Other recommendations include common sense precautions that are often overlooked by families in a rush to get to their favorite vacation spot. Getting a basic check-up for your vehicle, including tuning up brakes, motor, electric connections, and an oil change if needed, is important before a long trip that will put a greater than normal strain on a vehicle. People should avoid loading suitcases on top of the car as this can create instability.

Pedestrians are reminded to walk against the flow of traffic in areas where there are no sidewalks, and wear light-colored or reflective clothing especially at night.

Omar Lizano, oceonographer at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in a 2015 interview with La Prensa Libre said that Costa Rica’s most dangerous beaches are Jacó, Herradura, Hermosa, Bandera, and Punta Cocles all on the Pacific coast. This he said is due not only to their strong currents and rip-tides, but to a combination of other factors including large crowds, inadequate lifeguards, and the presence of reefs and other maritime factors.

The Transit Police updated information for school vacations to announce that license plate restrictions for circulating in downtown San Jose will be lifted between Monday, July 4 and Friday July, 15, to resume again on Monday, July 18.