Safety in highways within urban areas in the southern region of Brazil

Abstract

This paper analyzes the road safety of federal highways within urban areas in the Southern region of Brazil. It seeks to evaluate the occurrence of victims, based on the records of the Brazilian Federal Highway Police (PRF), with the conditions of the pavement, the geometry, and the traffic signs, according to the methodology of the National Transportation Confederation (CNT). Critical urban stretches are highlighted in a geoprocessing program and concepts based on the Safe System approach are used for the delimitation of accidents. This approach considers that traffic accidents when they occur, should cause neither death nor serious injury. Considering deaths and victims with serious injuries, urban stretches of federal highways in Southern Brazil are among the most dangerous of Brazil. Most highways in urban areas were classified as being in good condition; however, several of them concentrated a large number of victims, primarily motorcyclists. As a negative highlight, São José, in Santa Catarina State, presented the most critical section. Of the stretches with great accidentality, nearly all were close to large urban agglomerations or to regional capitals, probably due to a large number of movements generated by socioeconomic activities.

Keywords:
Road safety; Safe system; Highways; Urban areas