Brazil Road Accident Trends: 37,150 Deaths and Climbing Again

What the numbers show

Brazil counts road deaths in its national mortality system (SIM), run by the Ministry of Health through DATASUS. A 2026 ONSV analysis of SIM data puts deaths at 31,945 in 2019, 32,716 in 2020, 33,813 in 2021, 33,894 in 2022, 34,881 in 2023 and 37,150 in 2024, a 6.5% jump in the latest year (ONSV via Portal do Trânsito). Deaths were higher a decade ago: the ministry’s data showed 43,780 deaths in 2014 and 38,651 in 2015 (Agência Brasil; Agência Brasil). The rate fell from 21.9 per 100,000 in 2014 to 17.5 in 2024, but it is rising again (Atlas da Violência 2026 via Agência Brasil).

Motorcyclists drive most of the recent rise. Their deaths rose from 11,182 in 2019 to 15,459 in 2024, or 41.6% of all road deaths, up from 28.7% in 2014 (Agência Brasil). A Fiocruz study found motorcyclists were 8.3% of road deaths in 2000 and 33.4% in 2017 (Agência Brasil). On federal highways, which the Federal Highway Police (PRF) patrols, there were 73,156 crashes, 84,526 injuries and 6,160 deaths in 2024 (Agência Brasil), and 72,483 crashes, 83,483 injuries and 6,044 deaths in 2025 (Agência Brasil; Radioagência Nacional).

What is driving it

Motorcycles are the main driver. They are cheap transport in small towns and the North and Northeast, and app-based delivery and motorcycle-taxi work have grown fast; the Atlas da Violência 2026 links the rise in motorcycle deaths to this app economy (Agência Brasil). Alcohol is the other long-running factor. The Lei Seca of June 2008 set near-zero limits; a 2012 law brought zero tolerance and allowed video and witnesses as evidence; 2016 made refusing a breath test an offence; and 2018 rules raised prison terms for drink-driving that kills to up to eight years (Rádio Senado). Alcohol-related deaths fell from about 15,000 in 2010 to 13,075 in 2024, according to CISA (Agência Brasil).

Policy has moved slowly. Brazil signed up to the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety in 2011 but only launched its national plan, Pnatrans, under Law 13,614 of 2018, which reporters called seven years late (Radioagência Nacional). The plan was revised in 2021 and aims to at least halve the death rate per 100,000 people from its 2020 level, with 50% cuts for motorcyclist, pedestrian and cyclist deaths (Ministry of Transport). Law 14,599 of 2023 set 2030 as the deadline and created a national crash register, Renaest (Planalto). Each May, the Maio Amarelo campaign and PRF operations focus on enforcement (Agência Brasil).

Recent cases

• 8 September 2026: The PRF reported 66 deaths and 1,074 injuries on federal highways over the Independence Day long weekend (4–8 September), with 993 drivers cited for drink-driving or refusing a breath test (Radioagência Nacional).
• 19 August 2026: The National Traffic Council (Contran) updated how the Lei Seca is enforced. Saliva tests can now detect drugs such as cannabis and cocaine, but penalties are unchanged (Rádio Senado).
• 31 July 2026: ONSV’s analysis of Ministry of Health data showed road deaths rose for a fifth straight year to 37,150 in 2024, with motorcyclist deaths up 14.7% (Portal do Trânsito).

Press releases and official reports, 2023–2026

Five key releases a year for the last four years, newest first. Most come from federal ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Health, INPE, the Federal Highway Police, CENIPA and the Central Bank, from Agência Brasil, the public news agency, and from the Senate and Chamber news services and state governments; a few news reports are included where they are the clearest public record of an event. Headlines are our English translations of the Portuguese originals. Releases from 2007–2022 are in the expandable list after 2023.

2026

• 19 Aug 2026Senate RadioContran updates Lei Seca enforcement and provides for tests for other drugs
• 19 Jun 2026Agência BrasilIn 14 years, alcohol-related traffic deaths fall 19.5%
• 26 May 2026Agência BrasilMotorcycle deaths rise with the expansion of the app economy
• May 2026Agência BrasilBrazil will have a National Day in Memory of Road Traffic Victims
• 7 Feb 2026Agência Brasil (Radioagência Nacional)PRF records fall in road deaths in 2025

2025

• Oct 2025Agência BrasilBus crash in Pernambuco leaves at least 15 dead
• 20 Jun 2025Agência Brasil (Radioagência Nacional)Lei Seca: 17 years of a landmark in road safety in Brazil
• 12 May 2025Agência BrasilMotorcycle crash death rate rises 12.5% in the country
• 17 Apr 2025Agência BrasilCrashes on federal highways kill 6,160 people in 2024
• Feb 2025Agência BrasilCollision between bus and truck in São Paulo kills 12

2024

• 25 Dec 2024Agência BrasilCivil Police identify 15 bodies of victims of BR-116 crash
• 10 Dec 2024Senate News AgencyPublic Security Committee approves bill making homicide at the wheel a non-bailable crime
• 18 Oct 2024Senate News AgencyLaw creating a week for preventing motorcycle crashes is published
• 17 Oct 2024Presidency of the Republic (Planalto)Law No. 15,006 of 17 October 2024: creates the National Week for the Prevention of Motorcyclist Crashes and the National Motorcyclist Day
• 1 Aug 2024Agência BrasilRoad deaths in São Paulo state rise 23%

2023

• 2 Oct 2023Agência BrasilBus rollover leaves 12 dead on São Paulo state highway
• 20 Jun 2023Senate News AgencyLaw with changes to the Brazilian Traffic Code is published
• 19 Jun 2023Presidency of the Republic (Planalto)Law No. 14,599 of 19 June 2023: amends the Traffic Code, sets up the national crash register and a goal to at least halve the death rate by 2030
• 2 May 2023Agência BrasilHighway crashes kill 56 people over the long holiday weekend
• 1 May 2023Agência BrasilMotorcyclist hospitalisations rose 55% in 10 years

Photo list

How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. Brazil’s national death data come from the Ministry of Health mortality system (SIM/DATASUS) and are usually final about two years later, and some topics, such as fires, have no single national count, so we say which year and source each figure covers. Money is given in reais (R$). Headlines and quotes are our translations from Portuguese. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.