Death rate on federal highways during Carnival in Brazil drops 9.6%
A general view shows the Tietê express highway, one of the ring roads most prone to traffic-jams in the city, in mid-morning time during the World Car Free Day, in São Paulo, Brazil, on September 22, 2010.
With 122 deaths registered on federal highways in Brazil during the first three days of Carnival, the Polícia Rodoviária Federal (PRF, Federal Highway Police) said that the rate has dropped by 9.6% compared to last year's 135 deaths during the same time period, reported Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Brasil.
According to Brazilian news site iG, there were 1,984 accidents this year, and 2,732 in 2011, leaving 1,148 injured this year and 1,625 injured last year. That's a 27.4% drop in accidents and a 29.4% drop in people injured, reported Brazilian news site R7.
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The press secretary from the PRF stated that 20% of this year's deaths occurred during two accidents, according to R7. The first accident was a head-on collision between a car and a bus in Bahia state, where eight of the nine passengers in the overloaded car died. Police suspect that one of the drivers fell asleep at the wheel.
The second accident, and the one with the most fatalities, was a collision between two buses in Goiás state, with 14 dead at the scene and one who later died at the hospital. There were also 60 injured during the crash, reported R7.