Has this happened to you? Standing in the middle of the road under the hot sun or pouring rain, horns beeping, traffic backing up…….all because you had a collision on the streets of Panama! Here are the basic procedures to follow after an automobile accident in the Republic of Panama.

Based on Kevin’s experience, interviews with Transit Police and Insurance Company Claims Adjusters, here are some worthwhile suggestions that may help ease your post-bender blues.

Immediately after the collision, call the roadside assistance telephone # of your insurance company and ask that they come to the scene.

When no person has been injured and both parties agree who is responsible, take pictures and move the vehicles to the side of the road.

If the other party leaves the scene of the accident, find a policeman and report “Colision y Fuga” (Hit and Run). This may protect you from further legal consequences.

Here is a rough translation of the articles described in the new law:

Article 1. When a minor traffic accident (fender bender) occurs in the public ways of the country, the drivers involved should move the vehicle out of the way, after exchanging the Unique and Final Form that is described in article 4. (Have several forms in your car partially filled). Your insurance company/broker should provide you with a supply to be filled in TRIPLICATE!

Article 2. Regarding the previous article, a minor traffic accident is any collision that happens between one or more motor vehicles where damages, produced by the impact allow the vehicles to be moved out of the way by their drivers, as long as no one involved is injured, otherwise article 5 will apply.

Article 3. The “Autoridad de Transito y Transporte Terrestre” (Terrestrial Traffic and Transportation Authority) along with the “Departamento de Operaciones de Transito de la Direccion Nacional de Operaciones de la Policia Nacional” (National Office of Operations, Traffic Operations Department of the National Police) will provide a Unique and Final Form, which will be used by the drivers involved in minor traffic accidents (fender benders), in order to compile all necessary information to determine responsibility.

Article 4. The drivers of motor vehicles involved in a minor traffic accident (fender bender) will exchange the Unique and Final Form in triplicate, which must be carried in their vehicles at all times.

Note: The form requests the following information:

 1. General information about parties involved (Name, License, ID (Cedula, Passport, Pensionado VISA)

 2. The description of the vehicles (Year, Make, Model, License Plate number)

3. Exact address where the accident occurred (Street, City, District, Province).

4. Weather conditions and any special circumstances at the scene of the accident.

 5. The approximate time, circumstances (see 4) and the final resting position of the vehicles.

 6. If possible, the facts may be supported by photographs, videos or any type of technological tool that can facilitate the description of the accident. (sketches, drawings, etc.)

 7. Within 72 hours of the accident, the drivers or the owners of the vehicles will present the Unique and Final Format to the “Autoridad de Transito y Transporte Terrestre” (Terrestrial Traffic and Transportation Authority) located at Centro Comercial Los Pueblos at the rear of SuperCentro El Campeon, close to the Nikos café of Los Pueblos. They must also deliver a copy of the form to the respective insurance companies within seventy two hours of the traffic incident.

Article 5. When a traffic accident occurs, where the vehicles involved suffer damages that prevent them from being moved out of the way by their drivers or if the occupants or third parties result with any type of injury, the presence of an inspector from the “Departamento de Operaciones de Transito de la Direccion Nacional de Operaciones de la Policia Nacional”(National Office of Operations, Department of Operation of the National Police) will be necessary. The traffic officer will have to fill out an official traffic accident form to determine liability. If the parties do not agree on who is responsible for the accident, one of the parties may request the presence of a Traffic Inspector, call 311 even if the vehicles have been moved.

Article 6. The driver’s license of individuals more than seventy years old will be valid only for two years, with the exception of the restrictions for violations disposed by law and by regulations, and a discount of 50% from its cost will apply.

Article 7. The “Organo Ejecutivo” will regulate the present Law within a sixty days period, counting from its promulgation. Make sure you have your insurance company’s “Roadside Assistance” sticker affixed to the windshield, this is a valuable tool and a phone call should bring their help. Call your Insurance Broker (put his cell # in your address book).

Finally, check your own driver’s license, make sure it is not EXPIRED; your policy will not pay unless you have a VALID driver’s license. If you lend your vehicle, check their driver’s license to make sure it is not expired.

Please print this article and keep it in your automobile.

Imy vehicle is personally insured by ASSA here in Panama and their website link which follows provides all of the needed forms and additional information you may require, however, unfortunately it is only in Spanish.

 http://www.assanet.com/formato+unico+para+accidentes+de+transito+menor.aspx

The  “positive”  move should be closely monitored said  Giovani Fletcher, president of the Panama Institute of Consumer Law, to ensure that traders don’t take advantage of the change to jack up prices.

Fletcher said   that he expects the price bread by the pound to depend on supply and demand  but price parameters should be set  to avoid driving up prices and to avoid future abuses.

The new rules were introduced in February with an adaptation period of 90 days from April 12.

The new regulation will be valid for 12 months and may be subject to revision, adaptation and updating each year.

ATTT Director Jorge Ricardo Fábrega said that the fare hike for many bus routes in the interior was approved to avoid a “national emergency” after bus owners had threatened a strike on Wednesday April 9. They demanded higher fares to cover rising fuel and equipment costs.

Fares for the Panama-Santiago will rise $1 and the Panama-David routes will be up $2.60.

A loaf of bread in Panama City climbed from 91 cents to $1.27.

Gas prices are scheduled to rise this week, and initial forecasts are that there will be a giant jump of 25 -30 cents a gallon, fueled by the rising price of oil, following the Middle East uprisings, and extreme cold weather in the United States.

The new prices will mark one of the biggest ever one time increases and take the price of a gallon of gas to close to, or over, $4 a gallon, the level that hit motorists hard during the financial crisis of 2008.

The high price of oil will also mean a jump in electricity rates during the second half of the year.

It will also spark increased prices in restaurants and supermarkets as operators pass on increased operating costs.

Other locations in the running were Aguadulce, Antón, Penonome, Santiago and Chitré.

As a sweetener to protesters in Santiago, which claims the airport should have been sited their because of the region’s economic development, the government plans to spend a “significant amount of money” to upgrade the Ruben Cantu Airport.

The government is also planning to invest another “significant amount of money” to upgrade facilities at the former Howard Air Force Base on the fringes of Panama City and to bring the Enrique Malek Airport in David, Chiriqui, up to international standards. An airport will also be built in Santa Catalina, in the Sona district.

The airport in Rio Hato will also be served by the construction of a tunnel from the Trans Panama highway all intended to give greater access to the Pacific beach areas to help boost tourism.

Provincial Council of Veraguas Representative Marcial Arosemena said: “The exclusion of Santiago means it will miss the opportunity to have access to an area place that has great economic boom, not occurring elsewhere in the interior.”

The executive committee of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) chose Panama over Venezuela, in a secret vote at a meeting in Havana.

The 14 member committee chose Panama because of the short distance between stages, supply security and lower airfares for participants.

The event likely be staged between late September and early October and will cost around $5 million.

New increases at the pump will be announced on Wednesday with indications that a gallon of 95 octane will rise 6 cents and 91 octane 5 cents. Diesel prices could shoot up 12 cents a gallon. The increases have raised fears of a further escalation in food prices and the cost of living.

The latest prices mark the third increase this year, and the fourth successive rise since Dec. 18.

In Panama and Colón, 95 octane currently sells for $3.52 a gallon and 91 octane for $3.36. Prices are higher in the interior.

If it’s any consolation, gas is cheap compared to Europe, but there you don’t see the streets jammed with oversized SUVs.

Copa Airline announced Thursday, January 20, that Toronto Pearson Airport will receive four flights a week from Panama starting June 15.

They also announced flights to two other destinations in the Americas beginning June 15, and will increase the frequency of daily flights as part of its 2011 expansion plan.

Copa President, Pedro Heilbron, said that the other destinations are Porto Alegre, and Nassau in the Bahamas. This means the airline will be flying toto 55 cities in 27 countries.

“The expansion plan that will make Panama not only the leading hub in Latin America, but also as the destination with the best air connectivity on the continent,” said Heilbron.

Also beginning in June, the airline will increase the frequency of flights to Lima, Orlando, Miami, Bogotá, and Santiago, Chile.

If there is a minor accident, the drivers involved must move their cars off the street to avoid traffic congestion.

Each driver must complete a transit accident form and exchange it with the other party involved in the accident and, if possible, the drivers should take photographs or videos of the collision. That problem should be eased for those carrying cell phones that can take photos.

The drivers must then report the accident to their insurance company. If there is no acceptance of responsibility by either side, the drivers must await a transit police officer.

Prohibition on the sale of alcohol in Panama, runs from Midnight on Saturday January 8 until Midnight the next day.

The ban marks Martyrs Day, commemorating the killing of Panamanian students by U.S. forces during demonstrations against American occupation of the Canal Zone, and the prohibition of the entrance of Panamanians. The incident led to the renaming of the Avenue July 4, to Martyrs’ Avenue, and ultimately to the 1969 agreement that Americans would hand over the Canal at the end of the century.

Failure to observe the ban can lead to fines ranging from $100 to $1000.

Also on the black list is “lively music” in, nightclubs, discos, and other dance locations.