Fatal road accidents have become a daily occurrence in Costa Rica, and it’s no wonder many slogans and messages aimed at encouraging safe driving refer to the situation as a “war on our streets.”

This weekend was especially tragic with five young people dead in three separate accidents in just two days.

Two children aged 5 and 8 died in the first accident, in Valle de Estrella, Limón, when the adult carrying them (without helmets) on a motorcycle swerved to avoid a fallen trunk in the road and caused the kids to fall off into the other lane. They were then run over by a car coming in the opposite direction, and declared dead at the site by emergency officials.

In another accident, two 21-year-old young men near the entrance to Grecia crashed head-on into an oncoming car as they sped northward from Alajuela on the highway and were both killed.

In a final deadly incident, in Pococí de Limón on Sunday, two young men racing on motorcycles crashed. One was injured, and the other, an 18-year-old, died.

This human-created war is resulting from a combination of factors that range from impulsivity, short-sightedness, boredom, attraction to high-risk behaviors, and dangerous roads.

When young people die, the cost to society is very high in economic terms with many years of lost productivity; but the toll on people’s families and loved ones is the highest of all, and this weekend created a lot of sadness and loss for many people.

Please take care when you are on the road.