End of traffic jams in Panama --dream away

(newsroompanama.com) It is nice to dream, isn´t it? Can you envision a cosmopolitan and hectic city such as Panama City, Panama, without traffic jams and upset drivers?

We must be realistic. With an increasing amount of vehicles and drivers circulating daily in our city, traffic is just a logical consequence.

While driving in Panama, you encounter a large amount of car accidents that take place, most of them considered minor, especially during peak hours and pay days.

If you are a foreigner, you must have asked yourself several times the million dollar question: “Why don´t they move the cars out of the way and simply exchange insurance information?” They could not.

 According to Panamanian law, they had to wait until an officer arrived at the scene to create a report, gathering the evidence as well as any other circumstances that could have led to the accident. You simply could not move the vehicles; otherwise you would be altering the evidence. This included minor accidents, even fender benders.

This is why we should at least give a round of applause for an initiative taken by the current government:

regulating minor car accidents.

Law 21 issued on May 28th, 2010, “dictates measures regarding minor car accidents occurring on public roads in the country”.

Minor accidents are described as those in which neither the occupants nor third parties are injured and when the vehicles have not sustained so much damage that they cannot be moved. If there are injuries and/or the vehicles cannot be moved to avoid obstructing the roads, a transit inspector must visit the scene.

Furthermore, the law indicates that the drivers shall exchange a “Unique and Definitive Form”, which shall contain the general information of the parties, vehicle description, exact location of the accident, circumstances, time, etc. It is recommended to include photos or videos taken.

This form has to be presented to the Transit Authority and the Insurance Companies within seventy two (72) hours from the time the accident took place.

Unfortunately, the Government was supposed to regulate this law within sixty days from its approval (meaning it should have been regulated by July 21 2010), however this has not taken place yet. Surely there are many drivers out there that will be waiting to smile once this happens.

Special Note: Drivers licenses for those 70 or older will only be valid for 2 years. The cost to obtain it was reduced to 50% for those that fall within this category.

Yasser Williams Arosemena is a practicing lawyer in Panama City, who also broadcasts weekly on the Breakfast Show on Cool FM, 89.3 . He welcomes your questions.

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Original Source:http://www.newsroompanama.com/business/legal/1581-end-of-traffic-jams-in-panama-dream-away.html
Date Retrieved: August 21, 2010.