Costa Rica Guide

travel information and maps

  • Vacation Planning
  • Best Trips Ever>>
  • More Fun Than Humanly Possible
  • Costa Rica
    • Top Ten
    • Best Time to Visit Costa Rica
    • Things To Do in Costa Rica
    • Maps
    • Transportation
      • Rental Cars
        • Advantages of Driving
        • Disadvantages Driving
        • Code of the Road
        • Navigation & Drive Time
        • Rental Insurance Explained
        • Can’t Get There
      • Airports
        • Flights Worth Taking
        • LIR or SJO
        • Airfare Deals
        • Domestic Airlines
        • Domestic Air Tips
      • Taxis
      • Bus Schedule
    • Food
      • Typical Menu
      • Batidos & Refrescos
      • Gallo Pinto
      • Tamales
      • Ceviche
      • Ensalada Palmito
      • Sopa Negra
      • Vinagre Chilera
    • Weather
      • Seasons in Costa Rica
      • Current Storms in Costa Rica
    • Regions
  • Nature & Wildlife
    • National Parks
    • Wildlife Refuges
    • Ecozones
    • Best Places to See Wildlife in Costa Rica
  • Practical Info
    • Health & Safety
      • Health Tips
        • Altitude Sickness
        • Chikungunya
        • Natural Disasters
      • Crime
        • Cons & Rip-offs
        • Corruption
        • Violent Crime
    • Will My Phone Work?
    • Packing List
    • Passports & Docs
    • Money – How To?
    • How Much Does it Cost?
    • Travel Tips
  • Stories
    • Photos
    • Trek Across Costa Rica
    • Sendero de Oro
    • Quebrada Gata
    • Bicycle Touring
    • About Us
  • Move to Costa Rica
  • Free Travel Pack
no obligation custom trip plan & price quote

1-866-816-0197

· Copyright © 2023 ·

Okay to Break the Law

The normal flow of traffic in Costa Rica is often moving at around two to three times the speed limit which can make it extremely dangerous to abide by the law.  If you slow down to 25 kph (15 mph) in the school zones on the Pan American Highway you may be rear ended by someone going 100.

An even bigger risk in obeying the speed limit comes from the insane behavior it induces in other drivers.  If you’re going that slow they will pass you on a double yellow line, uphill around a blind corner and there’s a reasonable chance of a couple of cars coming the opposite direction doing the same.

Tinker's truck - garage sale on wheels
Safe to pass? This rolling pulperia sells everything and travels about 5km per hour…

Even though speeding fines are several hundred dollars it may be more prudent to try to stay closer to the flow of traffic that strictly obeying the speed limits…it’s sort of a situation of your money or your life.

Generally the lower the speed limit the more people speed.  In the example above of school zones on a highway the average speed is probably 75 kph or triple the speed limit.

The whole northern stretch of the PanAmerican highway from Cañas to Liberia is under construction to widen the road from one lane each direction to two lanes with bike paths, sidewalks and bus stops.  The construction zone speed limit is 30 kph (just under 19 miles per hour) but the average speed of traffic is around 80 kph which is the normal posted speed limit when there’s no construction.

Use your best judgement.

No Passing Zones

Enforcement of no passing zones has increased because following pedestrian fatalities, head on collisions in no passing zones are the main cause of traffic deaths in Costa Rica.

However, there are some situations where you almost have to pass (and again like speeding everyone else does, even little old ladies on their way to church)

When you’re following a tractor pulling a sugar cane cart at 5 kph (3 mph) it could be 30 or 40 minutes before they turn off or you reach a dashed yellow line indicating you can pass legally.  It’s pretty obvious that you carefully pass regardless of the double yellow line.  But, what about a pineapple truck at 17 kph (10 mph)?  How about a semi going 37 km per hour (23 mph)? Should you risk an $800 fine to pass?

Log truck
If this is coming at you at 80kph are you really going to argue that it’s your lane and he should move over?

We haven’t ever been pulled over for it but a friend was and he got a really nasty surprise when he found out that the fine is per vehicle passed so the two trucks he went around cost him $1,600.

Safe and Sane

We generally don’t try too hard to determine the technical legality and simply do what seems safe and reasonable.  We also drive the biggest SUV we can find and make sure it has as many airbags as possible because we know there are a lot of insane drivers headed our way.

Sometimes it’s impossible to figure out what’s legal.  We’ve seen the velocidad maxima posted on a sign as 60, right next to a velocidad maxima of 45 painted on the road (speed limits are often painted as big numbers on the asphalt because it’s cheaper than a sign) in a school zone where technically the law says the limit is 25.  In fact I once stood on an 80 next to a sign that said 60 and talked my way out of a ticket the traffico was going to write because he said the limit was really 45 because there was a gravel road entering the highway 100 meters away (the limit is 45 within 100 meters of all intersections…).

The poor maintenance of roads in Costa Rica means that there are many stretches where the lines wore off years ago (if they were ever there).  It’s impossible to know where the passing zones are but don’t think that will save you if you get pulled over.  If there used to be a double yellow line painted there you’re probably going to get a citation and it will definitely hold up in court should you decide to spend the year or two it might take to challenge it.

Ray & Sue

Cost · ToDo · Plan·Costa Rica Guide logo animated·Top10 · Best Time · Contact


toll free Costa Rica travel desk!
1-866-816-0197

CONTACT US

Driving
  • Do I Need Four Wheel Drive in Costa Rica?
  • Costa Rican Code of the Road
  • How to Rent a Car in Costa Rica
  • Stress Free Car Rental in Costa Rica
  • Credit Card Insurance
  • Navigation & Drive Time
  • You Can’t Get There From Here
  • Traffic Violations, Citations & Fines in Costa Rica
  • You GOTTA Be Kidding – Stupidity on the Roads
  • Best Car Rental Agency
  • No, No, Your Other Izquierda – Passing Lanes
  • Guide to Rainy Season Driving In Costa Rica
  • Rental Car & Driving Tips
  • Advantages of Driving in Costa Rica
  • Disadvantages of Driving in Costa Rica
  • Costa Rican Rental Car Insurance Explained (Sort Of)
  • Extra Costs of Renting a Car in Costa Rica
  • Okay to Break the Law
  • Fording Rivers
  • Remarkable Roadwork



Costa Rica Guide on facebook
Costa Rica Guide on Facebook