{"id":168904,"date":"2025-06-19T01:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/sin-categoria\/new-50-km-h-speed-limit-on-nicaraguan-highways-illogical-and-tax-collection\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T08:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T14:19:16","slug":"new-50-km-h-speed-limit-on-nicaraguan-highways-illogical-and-tax-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/new-50-km-h-speed-limit-on-nicaraguan-highways-illogical-and-tax-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"New 50 km\/h Speed Limit on Nicaragua\u2019s Highways Called \u2018Illogical\u2019 and \u2018Revenue-Driven\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Daniel Ortega personally coordinated with the head of the National Police, First Commissioner Francisco D\u00edaz \u2014 who is also his son\u2019s father-in-law \u2014 to implement a new speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (km\/h) on Nicaraguan highways, Rosario Murillo revealed. The decision, which makes Nicaragua the Central American country with the lowest permitted speed, has drawn strong criticism from experts and transport workers, who describe the measure as \u201ca cash grab,\u201d \u201cillogical,\u201d and \u201cmisguided.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\u201cLast night (Monday) I heard (Ortega) telling (D\u00edaz) that children or minors cannot travel on motorcycles because we expose ourselves to more accidents, more deaths, more pain, among other things. And then the speed limits, then the controls that have to be taken\u201d, Murillo said in her speech on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.<\/p>\n\n

On June 17, the Police ordered that 50 km\/h is the new speed limit on highways<\/a> for drivers of private vehicles as well as public or private transport of cargo or passengers. Meanwhile, motorcycle riders must drive at a maximum of 40 km\/h (25 mp\/h) on highways and are prohibited from carrying children as passengers.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe measures taken so far, including the speed reduction, will achieve nothing because they are intended to raise revenue. They\u2019re focused on generating more income for the State,\u201d said a traffic safety expert consulted by CONFIDENCIAL<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cReducing the speed limit will only increase fines for speeding,\u201d the expert noted. <\/p>\n\n

The police decision has sparked rejection and mockery from the public on social media. Users commented that the measure won\u2019t reduce accidents and that the real intention is to issue more fines. Others said the country is moving backward, and that bicycles or horse-drawn carts might make a comeback. <\/p>\n\n

Amid the online ridicule and criticism, the National Police removed the statement from its website, its Facebook page Visi\u00f3n Policial, and also deleted the video in which Deputy Commissioner Karen Obando, co-head of the police <\/em>public relations office, read the announcement.<\/p>\n\n

Traffic Fines Revenue<\/h2>\n\n

Traffic fines have been the National Police\u2019s main source of funding.<\/a> Since 2023, they\u2019ve exceeded 300 million c\u00f3rdobas ($8.16 million USD) in fines, and for 2025, they expect to collect over 400 million c\u00f3rdobas. <\/p>\n\n

Alongside this revenue increase, road accidents and fatalities have also risen. Before 2021, the daily average number of road deaths was two, but between 2022 and 2023, it increased to three. In 2024, following an order from Daniel Ortega, the average \u201cmiraculously\u201d dropped back to two. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cA comprehensive public policy for reducing traffic accidents requires prevention as the most important aspect. It demands investment in improving road conditions, educational campaigns for drivers, and traffic units stationed in the most problematic areas,\u201d the expert emphasized.<\/p>\n\n

While the Police do carry out prevention campaigns, these are limited to distributing flyers, holding seminars, and presenting the \u201cRoad Safety Booklet.\u201d They also install speed checkpoints, but until 2024, these had little effect, as the number of fatalities kept rising. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cTo enforce this new rule, they\u2019ll need more traffic patrols and police checkpoints on the roads, more radars, breathalyzers, and other tools,\u201d the analyst noted.<\/p>\n\n

Central American Truckers: \u201cIt\u2019s an Illogical Measure\u201d <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Costa Rican freight carrier Sidex Pays called the new speed limit an \u201cillogical measure\u201d that does not address the real causes of traffic accidents.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere are plenty of statistics that say most accidents are due to recklessness and alcohol consumption. The indicators we have\u2014not just from Nicaragua, but from everywhere\u2014point to alcohol use (\u2026) and if the problem is alcoholism, then why don\u2019t they shut down the liquor stores in Nicaragua?\u201d Pays questioned.<\/p>\n\n

He added, \u201c50 kilometers per hour is not a sensible speed for the world we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Central American cargo trucks have 24 hours to travel from one border to another. With the new speed limit, Pays said, drivers will no longer be able to rest because they\u2019ll be driving slower and traffic will increase. This is on top of the time spent waiting at border checkpoints, which can last half a day. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWith this measure, a driver can\u2019t rest, can\u2019t eat. God forbid they get a flat tire! This rule was not made with freight transport in mind. It\u2019s a flawed decision that goes against our current reality, where time is very precious,\u201d the trucker stressed.<\/p>\n\n

However, Raul Alfaro, president of the Salvadoran Association of International Freight Transporters (Astic), acknowledged that the measure has stirred concern among Central American transport workers, though he believes the impact will be minimal.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI told the drivers that here we already drive at an average of 40 kilometers per hour. It\u2019s not like a truck is going 40 the whole way, but for me, if they give 24 hours (to cross borders), that\u2019s fine,\u201d said Alfaro. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cA truck doesn\u2019t travel constantly at 80 km\/h. We might do that in some stretches, then slow to 40, 20, go back up to 60. The speed varies, but 50 kilometers is more consistent,\u201d Alfaro reasoned.<\/p>\n\n

With the 50 km\/h limit, Nicaragua becomes the country with the lowest speed limit in Central America. These are the limits in other countries: <\/p>\n\n