Amid the judgment of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on Prohibition, the Federal Highway Police (PRF) released the 2021 Yearbook with data on occurrences of drunkenness in traffic.
Published this week, the survey shows that, in the last year, 22,482 Brazilians refused to take a breathalyzer on federal highways. Santa Catarina is the record state with almost three thousand negative blood alcohol tests.
This Thursday (19), the Supreme Court returns to judge issues related to alcohol consumption and the Brazilian Traffic Code. Among them is the application of fines to drivers who refuse to take the breathalyzer test. This Wednesday (18), Minister Luiz Fux said that he considers the punishment constitutional.
The PRF figures also highlight that, last year, Brazil had 216 road deaths as a result of drunk drivers. Agents also recorded more than 4,500 accidents on federal roads where drivers were intoxicated. The collisions left 3,830 injured, 963 of them serious.
blood alcohol tests
In 2021, alcohol tests carried out in federal operations found 11,512 episodes of drunk people driving vehicles. Despite being high, the result is the third lowest in the historical series, which started in 2007. In 2013, this number reached 38,901.
Across the country, 4,783 citizens were arrested for having blood alcohol levels above the legal limit while driving.
Mato Grosso was the record breaking state for this reason. In total, 449 were detained for verifying the use of alcoholic substances in traffic. Acre was the one with the lowest number of occurrences, with 26 records.
Prohibition
The Prohibition Law has been in force since 2008. Currently, drunk driving is fined R$2,934.70. The value can double if the driver is caught breaking the law more than once in a year.
In terms of state roads, the statistics are even higher. In the state of Rio de Janeiro alone, Operation Lei Seca caught 19,952 drivers with some percentage of alcohol in their blood in 2021. At the same time, there were 19,064 refusals to take the breathalyzer test.
The most recent balance of Rio de Janeiro is much higher than that of 2020. At the time, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, blitzes were suspended from March to October. As a result, there were 3,715 infractions and 3,346 negative for blood alcohol tests.
The data also differs from the 2019 survey. In the period, there were 13,119 cases of drivers driving after consuming alcoholic beverages. Another 10,781 refused to blow the breathalyzer.
Source: CNN Brasil
