Traffic agencies reinforce educational actions at the opening of Yellow May
With the theme "Slow down, your greatest asset is life!", the program started at the beginning of the month and will continue with various actions until May 30.
The traffic agencies started on Tuesday, the 13th, the roadway actions of the Yellow May Campaign. The month is celebrated worldwide to draw society's attention to the importance of preserving life in traffic. The action was promoted by the State Department of Traffic (Detran), in partnership with the Municipal Secretary of Security, Public Order, and Mobility (Segbel).
With the theme "Slow down, your greatest asset is life!", this year's campaign draws attention to recklessness in traffic, especially accidents caused by disrespecting traffic laws, mainly speeding, not wearing helmets, using cell phones while driving, dangerous overtaking, and mixing alcohol with driving.
During the action on Pedro Miranda Avenue in Belém, the education agents set up an educational barrier, addressing drivers passing by. They heard from the agents a message of awareness about the main risk factors and watched an educational video. App driver Fábio Salgado listened attentively and highlighted the importance of awareness among everyone. "Recklessness is the main reason for deaths; drivers do not respect, run red lights, and I myself have escaped many accidents. Actions like this are important to alert the population," he commented.
Motorcyclists are the main traffic victims throughout Brazil. Data from Detran shows that only in May 2024, of the 2,509 accidents recorded in Pará, 815 involved motorcyclists. Josué César acknowledged that recklessness in the category is what contributes most to accidents. After hearing the recommendations from the education agents, he admitted that he fears violence in traffic. "It's always good to prevent, to respect the laws. My category is the one that has the most accidents; every day we see collisions on the streets. We need more awareness."
For the operational technical director of Detran, Bento Gouveia, more involvement from municipalities is needed in the local organization of traffic and awareness of society. "We need more municipalities to be municipalizing, as statistics show that there is a reduction where traffic is municipalized. And the other thing is awareness. If there is no unity of the entire society for collective road safety, it will be more difficult to save lives," he argued.
The Yellow May program started at the beginning of the month in companies, schools, and institutions and will continue with various roadway actions in Belém until May 30. "We will be committed to a campaign aimed at making the traffic in Belém a place of peace among all its actors. Therefore, the importance of Yellow May, as it will consist of educational actions to alert drivers about road safety, but also repression of infractions that make traffic an unsafe place," highlighted the secretary of Segbel, Luciano de Oliveira.
In addition to Detran and Segbel, the program included the presence of municipal traffic agencies from Paragominas, Abaetetuba, Marituba, Benevides, Santa Izabel, the Pará Cycling Federation, the motorcycle group Feras do Asfalto, the Brazilian Bar Association, and the Mônaco Group.
Text: Leidemar Oliveira - Ascom/Detran
