A study by Fundação Dom Cabral released this Tuesday (5th) points out that accident rates and their severity are four times higher on federal highways under public management than on those granted to the private sector.
Researchers used open data from the Federal Highway Police (PRF) available on the internet. Records from 2018 to 2021 were analyzed, totaling about 264 thousand accidents, of which 99.4% occurred on federal highways.
In absolute number of accidents, the annual average for the period surveyed is 43.4% on highways under concession and 56.6% on those under public management.
“Accidents happen on any highway and the greater the volume of traffic, the greater the possibility of accidents. This is demonstrated in the relatively close percentages of accidents on the set of highways granted and under public management (43.4% and 56.6%, respectively)”, explains Paulo Resende, professor at Fundação Dom Cabral and responsible for the study.
However, the foundation also used a scientific treatment method that “reduces the influence of the Average Annual Daily Volume (VMDA) of vehicles circulating in the stretch where the accident occurred, mitigating the fact that busier highways tend to have a higher absolute number of accidents”.
Thus, the “Accident Rate” was measured. In this case, the percentage referring to roads under public management is 79.7%, and for those under concession, 20.3%.
When considering the severity of the accidents, the Severity Rate on the roads under public management corresponds to 80.4%, and on those granted, 19.6%. Paulo Resende also reveals that the most serious accidents happen close to large urban centers.
Among the states with the highest number of accidents, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná stand out, which are also in the first places in the ranking of Severity Rates of occurrences.
The study also points out that the BR-101 and BR-116 highways are the highways with the highest number of accidents, accident rate and severity of cases. Even so, it is emphasized that “it is notable that the severity of the occurrences is more intense in the stretches that remain under public management than in those granted to private companies”.
The foundation points out that more public funding sources are needed for road improvements.
In a note to CNN the Ministry of Infrastructure stated that between 2019 and June 2022, 4,700 kilometers of federal highways across the country were renovated, built and duplicated.
According to the ministry, due to the budget reduction in recent years “due to the country’s need for fiscal adjustment”, the government invests in partnership with the private sector, with seven highways granted, which will have R$ 48 billion in private investments.
Read the full note from the Ministry of Infrastructure
“From 2019 to June 2022, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Infrastructure, revitalized, built and doubled 4,700 kilometers of federal highways across the country. With the budget reduction that has occurred in recent years due to the country’s need for fiscal adjustment, the Federal Government invests in partnership with the private sector, with a concession model that guarantees massive investments and quality in the provision of services in transport infrastructure.
Since 2019, BRL 99.4 billion in investments have been guaranteed during the period of the contracts. There are 34 airports, six railways and seven highways under concession, in addition to 36 leased port terminals. It is the world’s largest transport infrastructure concession program.
In the road modal alone, seven highways were granted, which will have R$ 48.8 billion in private investments. This amount is equivalent to approximately six times the MINfra budget to carry out works in all transport sectors. Also for this year, auctions are planned for two lots of the Paraná Highway System, with R$ 15 billion in private investments and the BR-381/262/MG/ES, with investments estimated at around R$ 5.75 billion. . For 2023, concessions for 44 assets are planned, including 15,647.61 kilometers on federal highways.”
Source: CNN Brasil
