The land that science forgot

This week, President Jair Bolsonaro submitted a bill to the House of Representatives proposing a series of changes to Brazil’s traffic laws. Among them is a move to double the number of points motorists can accrue on their licenses before facing driving bans, as well as removing the requirement to have car seats for babies and toddlers. Widely criticized by the media and specialists on traffic safety, the bill is yet another example of the Bolsonaro government proposing laws with little to no justification in science.

While the president claims the measure will benefit the population, studies show that several of his proposed changes to traffic rules may result in increased danger and death.

Losing your license becomes even harder

Currently, if drivers in Brazil accrue 20 points on their licenses within the space of 12 months, they will face a driving ban of between six months to two years. In practical terms, this corresponds to five speeding tickets—in cases where the driver exceeds the limit by up to 20 percent—or running three red lights.

The president’s proposal is to increase this limit to 40...