So far this year 446 people have lost their life as a result of road crashes in Costa Rica, this number was of 445 for the same period of 2016 and the year closed with 456 victims.

Out of these deaths, 197 (44.2%) were motorcyclists, according to data by the Operations Department of the Transit Police.

Data provided by the National Institute of Statistics confirms that road accidents are the third cause of death in the country, taking more lives than strokes.

The majority of the accidents are the result of the recklessness and the disrespect to traffic laws. High speeds, and driving under the effects of alcohol or drugs, raise the frequency of accidents and the violence of the same.
Close to 30% of the fatal accidents are related to the consumption of alcohol.

The increase in the number of vehicles on the roads has also translated into more road accidents; currently there are an estimated 1.4 million vehicles sharing the roads in Costa Rica; the total number of accidents involving at least one person injured in 2012 was of 9,663 and by 2015 this number was of 14,050. The last three months of the year register more accidents in comparison to the rest of the months.

The high number of road accidents also leaves many people injured. Just in the first trimester of 2017 a total of 4,946 injured motorcyclists had to receive medical attention at the National Insurance Institute, generating expenses of almost US$10 million.