By Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The state of São Paulo recorded 5,462 compensations for fatalities in traffic in 2018, according to data from DPVAT, the mandatory insurance of the State Department of Traffic of São Paulo (Detran).
Numbers show that adults between 45 and 64 years of age record the highest death rate in traffic in the state: 1,381 in 2018.
The figure is 10 percent lower than that recorded in 2017, yielding 6,103 deaths, although it is higher than that for violent crimes in the state, such as murder and armed robbery. May is Traffic Violence Awareness month.
According to data from the Traffic Accident Management Information System of the State of São Paulo (Infosiga), 68 percent of accidents occurred from 6 PM to 6 AM and 78 percent of those involved are men.
Half the victims die before getting to a hospital. Weekends and Mondays are the most critical days. The Capital at night is the period with the highest number of fatal accidents.
Dirceu Rodrigues Alves Júnior, director of the Brazilian Association of Traffic Medicine (Abramet), said the state needs to reduce the number of deaths by 50 percent. That is the United Nations (UN) proposal for Brazil.
“It drops 10 percent now, and in a little while, it climbs 12 percent. What is 10 percent in fact? We don’t have a curve but rather a plateau, lacking an important gap for us to end this decade with the 50 percent proposed by the United Nations,” he says.
The carelessness of motorists contributes to the high rate of traffic deaths, according to economist Paulo Henrique da Costa.
“It’s amazing that even though so many people are dying on the roads, avenues, and highways, there is still a large number of drivers believing that they are able to drive and use their cell phones at the same time, going through the bus lane, or worse, above the bus lane and with no seat belt,” he says.