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Brazil Sees Rise in Alcohol-Related Road Deaths as São Paulo Intensifies Checkpoints

Experts say the reversal in long-term decline shows zero-tolerance law must be backed by sustained, data-driven enforcement, improved emergency response, targeted prevention, better access to care

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Overview

  • After years of decline, CISA analysis shows alcohol-attributable traffic deaths rose to 13,075 in 2024, a 6.2% increase over 2023, and related hospitalizations climbed to 102,440 in 2025, up 1.9%.
  • São Paulo has sharply expanded on-the-ground enforcement, conducting 693 Lei Seca checkpoints between January and May 2026 and approaching 357,086 vehicles statewide during those operations.
  • The state’s escalation is part of a multi-year build-up: Detran-SP ran 467 operations in 2023, 1,272 in 2025, and inspected 781,458 vehicles in 2025 as authorities said they target sites and times using Infosiga crash-mapping data.
  • Lei Seca sets zero tolerance with graded penalties ranging from heavy administrative fines and license suspension for refusals or low breath-alcohol readings to criminal charges and possible detention for 0.34 mg/L or more.
  • Researchers and public-health experts say the law remains important but insufficient on its own and that sustained, strategic checkpoints, faster emergency care, and prevention campaigns focused on men and motorcyclists are needed to reverse the trend.