Car rental in Brazil - Traffic Safety and Road Conditions

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Traffic Safety and Road Conditions

TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ROAD CONDITIONS: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Brazil is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance:

Safety of Public Transportation: Good to Fair
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Good to Fair
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Good to Poor
Availability of Roadside Assistance: Good to Poor

Road conditions in Brazil vary widely throughout the country. State roads (especially in the south) are often excellent, while federal, interstate highways (designated by ‘BR') are often very poor due to lack of maintenance. There are occasional stretches of modern divided highway (especially in Sao Paulo State) that rival European or U.S. roads. In municipal areas, however, signs, shoulders, exits, and merge lanes tend to be haphazard. There are many potholes and surfaces are frequently uneven and bumpy. Some stretches of federal roads are so potholed that high-clearance vehicles are needed to traverse them. Many cities and towns have erected speed bumps, which are sometimes severe and may be unpainted and unmarked. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and horse-drawn vehicles all can be encountered, and pose hazards even on major routes. Travel after dark outside city centers is not recommended because of animals and broken down vehicles. Dirt roads are the rule in remote areas. These vary widely in quality and may quickly become more dangerous, even impassable, in rainy weather. Passenger car travel can be reasonably safe in most areas if one takes into account the prevailing conditions described above and exercises due prudence and caution. Passenger-bus hijacking, usually non-violent, occurs at random, most commonly in the Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro metropolitan areas.

Brazil's inter-city roads are widely recognized as among the most dangerous in the world. The Federal Highway Police reported 120,000 accidents in 1998, but this is believed to be a very conservative figure. As is the case elsewhere in the region, poor driving skills, bad roads and a high density of trucks combine to make travel considerably more hazardous than in the United States. There are no laws requiring truckers to take mandatory rest stops, and they often drive for excessive periods of time. All major inter-city routes are saturated with heavy truck traffic, and for the most part have only two lanes. Road maintenance is inadequate and some long-distance roads through the Amazon forest are impassable much of the year. While the government is encouraging the development of a cargo railway network to relieve road congestion, currently there are few railroads, and passenger train travel is almost nonexistent. Private cars and public buses are the main modes of inter-city road travel. Buses can range (depending on the route and the price) from luxurious and well maintained to basic and mechanically unsound.

The Brazilian Federal Government maintains a (Portuguese language) website with up-to-date information on road conditions throughout the country (www.dnit.gov.br). It also has downloadable state roadmaps. A private Brazilian company, Quatro Rodas, publishes road maps that contain local phone numbers to ascertain the current conditions of roads on the map. They are available at www.guia4rodas.com.br. Apart from toll roads, which generally have their own services, roadside assistance is available only very sporadically and informally through local private mechanics. There is a group called the "Angels of the Pavement" that provides roadside assistance on the main highway between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The fastest way to summon assistance in an emergency anywhere in the country is to dial 193, a universal number staffed by local fire departments. This service is in Portuguese only. Many motorists in major urban areas and more developed parts of the country carry cellular phones, and can be asked to assist in calling for help.

A new Brazilian highway code strengthening and consolidating Brazilian traffic laws entered into force on January 22, 1998. While the law establishes a system of sometimes severe penalties for a number of old and new traffic offenses, enforcement ranges from sporadic to non-existent, so motorists should not assume that others will necessarily follow even the most fundamental and widely accepted rules of the road. Some important local rules and customs include the following: - Seat Belts: All states have seat belt laws, but enforcement varies from state to state.

Child Car Seats: Some states require child car seats, but they are not universally available or affordable, and enforcement is also lax. As a result, most children are not secured in car seats.

Speed Limits: The maximum speed limit on major, divided highways is 120kmph (74 mph). Lower limits (usually 60kmph (40 mph)) are often posted in urban areas, depending on the road and the nature of the neighborhood. Speed limits are widely ignored and rarely enforced. Many towns and cities have marked electronic/photographic devices ("Fiscalisacao Electronica"), which verify speed and snap photos of violators' cars and license plates as a basis for issuing speeding tickets.

Yielding the Right of Way: Drivers must yield the right of way to cars on their right. Stop signs are rarely enforced, so many motorists treat them as yield signs.

Driving Under the Influence: Drivers are in violation of the law if blood/alcohol level reaches 0.6 percent.

Turns on Red Lights: Not permitted, except for right turns where there is a sign with an arrow pointing right and the words "Livre a Direita".

Penalties for Drivers Involved in an Accident Resulting in Injury or Death: In addition to possible criminal charges and penalties, compensatory and punitive damages may also apply.

Local Driving Customs: Drivers often use flashes or wave a hand out of the window to signal other drivers to slow down. Drivers will often break suddenly to slow down for the electronic speed traps mentioned above. In addition, pedestrian "zebra" crossings are strictly observed in some places (e.g., Brasilia) and ignored most everywhere else.

For additional general information about road safety, including links to foreign government sites, please see the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, home page at http://travel.state.gov/road_safety.html. For specific information concerning Brazilian driving permits, vehicle inspection, road tax, and mandatory insurance, please contact the Brazilian National Tourist Organization offices in New York via the Internet at http://www.embratur.gov.br /. For additional information from other sources in Brazil about road safety and specific information about accident statistics, Brazilian driving permits, vehicle inspection, road tax, and mandatory insurance, please see the following web sites: http://www.dprf.gov.br (Brazilian Federal Highway Police, in Portuguese only), and http://www.transportes.gov.br (Ministry of Transportation, in Portuguese only).