Fatal Traffic Accidents in São Paulo State, Brazil: Social Characteristics and Social Distance Effects

Abstract

AbstractEvery day someone become a victims of road traffic accidents. A traffic accident is a social, economic and health public problem that affects all society. However, the comprehension of its main causes is still a work in process. The influence of traffic volume can be suggested based on the impact of COVID-19 crisis, since that the fatal traffic accident in São Paulo city in 2020 dropped almost 1/3 in relation to 2019. Thus, the objective of this paper is to analyze the number of fatal traffic victims [FTV] in São Paulo State among January 2015 and September 2021. To do so, we used a São Paulo State database over fatal traffic accidents and applied the statistical analysis to provide graphical and cross tabulation results. Our results indicate that São Paulo Metropolitan Region (RMSP) is responsible for 1/3 of the FTV occurred in São Paulo State, and there was a decrease in the number of fatal traffic victims due to public policies applications and social distance caused by COVID-19. Furthermore, it identifies social characteristics that contribute to unsafety traffic such as gender (male), life stage (adult), vehicle (motorcycle), period of the day (night) and days of the week (Saturday and Sunday). We conclude that this research provides information necessary to auxiliary decision-makers to develop urban transportation plans to reduce fatal traffic accidents.KeywordsDriver behaviourRisk factorsRoad accidentsUrban mobility