From January 7, 2016 the drivers who use the roads of Costa Rica have the option to conciliate between them when they are involved in a minor traffic accident, that is, only when the car suffers materials damage, and always when these can move normally without the need of a crane.

Thanks to Decree No. 39146-MOPT, published on September 9, 2015 in the Diario Oficial La Gaceta and that entered into force in January, the presence of a traffic officer in minor traffic accident will not be necessary. Are excluded, therefore, cases in which people are injured (drivers, passengers or pedestrians), situation in which you must call the appropriate authorities, including the traffic officer.

The decree seeks that in a minor collision, drivers move their vehicles to avoid the congestion of the already saturated highways.

Requirements:

• For the conciliation is not necessary that the parties have an insurance, because the conciliationdetermines the commitment of the parties to pay the damages, or the acceptance of both parties to cover the damages on their own, for example.
• Those involved must agree to carry out the conciliation, and complete and sign the DAM form(Declaración de Accidente de Tránsito Menor or Declaration of a Minor Traffic Accident), which is available on the websites of the insurance companies and the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (http://www.mopt.go.cr:10039/portal/Documentos/DAM.pdf). It is recommended that drivers carry multiple copies in their vehicles.
• One of the parties must accept its guilt and assume the costs of the damage caused, or agree that each driver will assume the damages on their own.
• Despite the conciliation it is essential to gather all possible evidence, through photos and / or videos:Numbers of plates, identifications, driving licenses, all damages caused, vertical and horizontal road signs and others. The drivers must not move the vehicles until they have collected all the proofs.
• If any of the parties have an insured vehicle they should contact their insurance company and follow their procedures.
• If one of the parties does not wish to reconcile, it should not sign the DAM form and should continue with the usual procedure: call a traffic officer and the insurance company, if it has one.
• If any of the parties violates the agreement the other must go to court with all the evidence of the incident, to make the claim for the damages.

Information contained in the form

• Conditions in which the minor accident occurred.
• Characteristics of the drivers, vehicles and owners.
• Distribution of responsibilities among drivers.
• Signature of both drivers.

The information expressed in the DAM form is considered an affidavit of the events that took place (Article 3 of Decree No. 39146-MOPT).