Driving in Nicaragua 🇳🇮 Jail for an Accident?!?

We've all heard the stories. Get into a car accident in Nicaragua and you are going to prison! Who is telling these stories? Why? What is the truth?
#nicaragua #prison #driving #travel
21 June 2024
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🇳🇮

[@EGCenteno_Nic]

When I visit Nicaragua, I try to avoid driving. When I lived there, it was less crowded then. Infrastructure wise, it hasn’t changed much since I used to live there and commuted to school. It is great to see that area again. Thanks for showing us.

[@timr804]

Driving at night is difficult because of people and other things in the road. Visibilty is bad sometimes.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

And street lights are rare and weak. So contrast can be difficult. And people often use super high pointing, very bright lights.

[@realassetsteam]

Thx for keeping it real, good info.. Also, now I now want Arriba & Abajo mean in directions ! Again thx

[@Ichithix]

Being a foreigner driving in a country you're not familiar with just comes with extra risks. Many years ago there was a young woman at my school in Korea. She went to Japan on vacation, rented a car, and on the first day had a collision with an elderly driver at an intersection. The elderly driver died and this young woman ended up spending 6 months in a Japanese prison before the Korean government was able to extricate her. She was very lucky if she had been a little less visible to her community or less sympathetic she could have been there a very long time. Which is all to say, this kind of thing can happen anywhere. It probably won't happen to you, but why even roll the dice if there's not really anything to be gained by doing so?

[@user-cw8qi9td3e]

Great video! An I can attest to the stress level and alertness required when driving in Nicaragua. Speed bumps everywhere, often with the alert signage obscured or missing. Pedestrians and dogs all over the road. And if doing so in the pouring rain, extra level of difficulty and alertness required.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

The unmarked speed bumps are SUCH a problem!

[@robertsteinberger5667]

For police stops, make sure you have some extra money on you. Motorcyclists say its ok except for the public buses and intermortales. Public transport drivers often take over in risky ways on roads between cities.

[@LifeCareerChoices]

Great video and advice on driving in Nicaragua, hire a driver or taxi, if you can. During out recent trip there, we were able to pay a driver $25 USD plus fill up the car with gas to drive three of us from Granada and drop us off in Leon. When he picked us up a couple of days later, same thing, we filled up the car with gas and paid him $25 USD to return to Granada and we were so glad we did. Managua traffic and driving habits were an eye opener with the number of cars, motorcycles, mopeds, pedestrians, dogs, people in the middle of the street at traffic lights trying to wash your windshield or trying to sell you stuff. Although there were traffic lights, many, many motorcycle riders did not obey them and pedestrians trying to cross the street definitely did not have the right of way. The $25 USD cost each way was money well spent. Getting around in both Leon and Granada, we used taxis, and they were both plentiful and very cheap. Granada was 30 Cordobas or .82 cents per person each way wherever we went in the city, so well worth it. On a side note, traffic in San Jose, Costa Rica was not good at all (reminded me of big US city traffic), and we had some very close calls in the vehicles we had drivers in there. San Jose, Costa Rica also had a lot of highway toll booths, too.

[@1stLukecifer]

Other than a Housekeeper/cook, a the personal driver sounds like a no-brainer: another Nica employed & I deal with none of the purposed stress from behind the wheel.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Yeah, a driver is a great thing to have if you can swing it. It's common to be able to get a combined driver / handy man. Few people need a FULL TIME driver Or a Full time handyman, so combine those roles and you might be golden.

[@1stLukecifer]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog , so I’m dialing in the idea of a F/T housekeeper/cook & a F/T driver/handyman; above-avg salary & above-avg housing for a compensation package. I’ll schedule a billable consult with you within 1st month’s arrival (plan on landing 05FEB2025).

[@timr804]

I had some problems with getting a good GPS and phone signal, usually in the mountain areas. I like to have a map as a backup.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

If you download your Google Maps, even without a GPS it works just like a regular map.

[@patriciaflaherty]

You can set up a subscription service where people pay monthly to JOIN your channel and then you give them extra live videos, or early access to videos, etc. It's KZbin's version of patreon.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

That's cool. Not sure what I'd be able to do to make that worth it. Hmmm.... You can so something similar on Buy Me a Coffee, not sure how I'd make it worth it for people, though.

[@patriciaflaherty]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog you're probably better off with buy me a coffee because I think KZbin takes a bigger cut, but that may have changed.

[@Brent-ox8lk]

When I get there I'd just like to be able to have a scooter or small moto to run around town on. Let's see if I can manage to jump through the administrative and legal hoops. From what I understand residency or a lawyer's help might be required?

[@oscarcampos7160]

And the naked dude sometimes. Yep it happens. There is a Maxi Pali closer to Sutiava to the right of Bankpro.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

KZbin temporarily had a block on the video because they were afraid the naked guy was actually in it!

[@oscarcampos7160]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog 🤦

[@robertsteinberger5667]

The police has a lot of problems with the foreign enclave in san juan del sur, can you tell more about that?

[@patriciaflaherty]

I've done some very extensive research on jails and prisons in Nicaragua (i watched multiple episodes of Locked Up Abroad) and I'm 99% certain that neither the jails nor prisons in Nicaragua are air conditioned. That's enough to dissuede me from committing any crimes 😁.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

we could just ask some people. i have a neighbor that won't stop selling weed and had a lot of experience in the Nica jail.

[@1stLukecifer]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog and if the upper levels of government weren’t familiar with him before, they are now! Lol

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

jaja. oh they know him. every cop knows him. he gets arrested so fast once out. he's a nice guy but dude, you KNOW they will get you in a few weeks!

[@patriciaflaherty]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog not in your gated community!!!! 😱😱😱

[@dubNoFunkinSoul]

100% would never hire a car and drive again, especially in Managua. I've driven in some crazy cities but Managua was pretty bonkers especially in a hire car with no premium insurance! I got pulled over by the police for overtaking a slow moving bus, hands up I did wrong, the policeman was nice and let me off. It was a wake up call though. Relax don't force situations and just don't be in a hurry.

[@dubNoFunkinSoul]

Now I know about transfer buses and other private transport so I wouldn't need to hire a car again

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

I drive Managua a lot now. I've gotten used to it. But it's definitely stressful and requires a lot of patience.

[@allencrist5797]

That's not exactly how it happens in the USA. Impared (Automobile Homicide) or CRIMINAL negligence resulting in death in a crash and you will go to jail. But if you run a stop sign and kill someone, and are not impared or did it intentionally or at a very high rate of speed, you are NOT going to jail. Simple negligence accidents, even resulting in death, and you will get a traffic ticket. Civil penalties are harsh, but not criminal.

[@tomdesantis551]

I lost my license for 24 hrs when I had a bump up. Yeasterday my girlfriend sideswiped a motorcycle she sat at the jail all day they wait for the person to be cleared from the hospital before they let you go thank God no one was injured more than scrapes and bruises. They didn't press charges and were very nice people I told my girl to save thier number and address when I come down im going to offer them 100 dollars because the woman missed a day of work and had to pay for the exray they didn't ask for anything and were extremely nice about it alot of the time if you dress nice and have a nice car Nicaraguan see you as a strawberry 🍓 😅 Rico and will try to keep you there till you pay them something. These people did not. Drive carefully and be kind your probably not late for work and being threatened to be fired. Managua traffic is the worst I've seen in the morning. Learn when traffic is heavy plan around it and don't flip people off here its a ass whooping offense here. Your not in the US. That said you probably won't get shot at a light 😂. Busses will run you over. There are thousands of motorcycles . I'm a truck driver I have tons of driving experience and had my first wreck in 17 yrs here its not easy . But with care its doable.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Good info and advice for sure! Thank you!