ANTT backs down and suspends average speed radar tests in Brazil

The ANTT (National Land Transportation Agency) has suspended tests of radars that measure average speed, which had been announced ten days ago.

According to the regulatory agency, the suspension is temporary. It is taking place to allow for adjustments to signage and communication to users.

As reported by Folha, the ANTT had authorized the testing of average speed radars in eight states. Among the locations chosen was a stretch of the Rio-Niterói Bridge, in Rio de Janeiro.

The experiments were to take place on privately operated highways — no stretch in São Paulo was included.

The locations are listed in a series of authorizations issued by Surod (Road Infrastructure Superintendency) and published in the Official Gazette on the 11th of this month.

In the case of the Rio-Niterói Bridge, the radars were planned for a stretch of approximately nine kilometers, in the direction of Rio de Janeiro.

According to the regulatory agency, when the tests are carried out, they will be evaluated under real operating conditions to verify data reliability, equipment functioning, and driver behavior.

At this stage, there would be no fines for drivers caught exceeding the permitted speed. The testing period would be 180 days.

Speed enforcement through average speed measurement aims to combat the so-called "kangaroo effect," when a driver reduces speed only when passing a radar and then accelerates immediately afterward.

This model is common in European countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

The issue is not new in Brazil. Since 2015, at least four bills have been introduced in the Chamber of Deputies, without ever becoming part of the CTB (Brazilian Traffic Code).

In the most recent of them, average speed enforcement was included in a road safety bill that has been under consideration for approximately two years. There is no scheduled date for a vote.

The CET (Traffic Engineering Company) tested average speed enforcement in the city of São Paulo in 2017, during the administration of João Doria (then with the PSDB). The measurement took place on Avenida 23 de Maio, Avenida Jacu-Pêssego, Avenida dos Bandeirantes, and Marginal Tietê.

In the first month alone, 230,000 vehicles were caught exceeding the speed limit. Those drivers received educational notifications about the behavior.