New Drunk Driving Law Now With Supreme Court Approval.

When Costa Rica’s first drunk driving case went to court this Jan. 22 under the new Transit Law, what was meant to be a victory for the law and the country, turned into a joke as the defendant claimed that the new law was unconstitutional and sent the case to the Supreme Court. Less than a month later, the Supreme Court ruled that the law, which sends drunk drivers to jail or confiscates their cars, is indeed constitutional and still stands.

Transit police had continued to follow the new law while the judgment hung in the air, and all postponed court dates will now be arranged for drunk drivers arrested so far this year. Those who thought they would be getting off easy now must face the full weight of the new law, which is extremely severe compared to the country’s past lack of interest in the sobriety of its drivers.

Supreme Court magistrates ruled that the Transit Law does offer consequences that fit the crime, shooting down the trial lawyer David Hernandez’s claim that it infringes on the principles of proportionality and prejudice. Hernandez tried to claim that those who drive drunk and drive in illegal car races are not harming anyone’s legal rights.

While the argument may seem outrageous, it may very well mirror many sentiments of a culture that has grown up accepting drunk driving due to a lack of enforcement otherwise. The policy had been in the past that driving drunk can only hurt you if you are involved in an accident, and therefore used against you in court. The new law is proactive and will hopefully help to put an end to the mentality that there are no consequences for driving after a night of heavy drinking, and thus end the transit deaths associated with this potentially fatal habit.

The Minister of Transportation Karla Gonzalez noted the severity of the problem of drunk driving and made the Transit Law her priority since she took over the position in 2006. Gonzalez was pleased with the Supreme Court ruling and said “the Court is backing the efforts that we have made to improve the quality of life of so many Costa Ricans”.

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