If January’s lowered alcohol-related traffic deaths are a sign of things to come, then Costa Rica’s streets are getting a lot safer.

Mario Calderón, director of Traffic Police, said his force was able to stop 228 drunk drivers last month through increased efforts. This may have led to a lowering by more than two-thirds the road deaths connected to drunk driving in January compared to December.

In December, a month when traffic fatalities historically spike due to the holidays, there were 13 alcohol-related traffic deaths, according to official police statistics. Often the trend can continue into January with the big festivities in Zapote, San José and Palmares, but only 4 alcohol-related deaths were registered last month.

Of the 228 drivers stopped for drunk driving in January, 22 were fined, and the others were detained and received different penalties depending on their blood alcohol levels. This ranges from no penalty, to fines and accumulating points on their license (not a good thing!), to being charged with a criminal offense.

During January, traffic police applied an average of over 100 alcohol “breathalyser” tests per day. Of the total  3,299 tests done, 7.5 percent were positive, which is a significant reduction over the 2016 average of 11 percent positive cases out of the year’s total of 24,279 tests performed. Let’s hope this trend continues, as it may indicate a growing awareness of the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol, and a consequent change in driving behaviors for the better.