Driving in Brasil

Every country has it's own set of rules and expectations for the roads. Brasil is no different. However, adjusting to these new ways has been challenging for us, midwestern drivers.

I find it amusing as one of the first questions I get asked is, "Are you driving yet? What do you think?"  This is quickly followed by, "Can you explain this U.S. driving rule to me."

Here are some of our observations, as well as things we have learned from natives, in our time here so far. Again, these are our opinions and observations, they may be biased, they may be incorrect at times, but they are what we know as of now.

While your original driver's licence will work for up to 6 months in this country, I do not recommend driving right away. This is a country where you need to observe a LOT before you venture out on your own. It took me almost a month before I felt safe enough to get behind a wheel and even now, I will always default to Greg driving (which is the complete opposite than in the U.S.!) if I can.

Remember that we live in an area that is considered, "not real Brasil" by the locals. They feel that laws are more relaxed, police are present, but rarely pull people over, and crime is very low. Greg drove my car without license plates for over two weeks due to the process of obtaining the plates. He was followed by many cops and was never once pulled over, thank goodness! They do not do 'temporary plates' here.

If we had to pick one word to describe Brazilian driving it would be EFFICIENT. At first, it may not look like it, but the more you start to ask the 'why' questions and get your answers, the more that you see that it is all about keeping traffic moving. And when you think about it, living in such a highly populated country or city, this would be very important! There are over 200,000 people in the two towns that we live and work in. São Paulo has over 12 million people.

You must be a defensive driver when driving here in Brasil. People, animals, and motorcycles will often cut out in front of you, even if you have the right of way. You must be aware at all times. Talking on, playing with, holding your phone is against the law.


Stop Signs and Intersections - Remember that saying you heard as a kid, "Stop signs with a white line around it are optional." Of course, in the U.S., this is a crude joke. Here, it is true. If you approach an intersection with a stop sign, and there is no one else at the intersection, you may proceed without stopping. If you approach an intersection from the north, and someone is coming from the east, you may speed up to make it through the intersection before they get there. Stop signs seem to be more of a signal that there is an intersection and to make you aware of the intersection.

Just GO! This is their motto. Approach the intersection with the goal to keep moving. The hardest intersection that we travel through every day is the one that gets us out of our condominium. It took me a while and I may have had cars drive around me, but gathering the courage to just go did happen. Why, because I realized that the other cars will SLOW or STOP! If you hesitate, traffic will keep going. If you inch out, they will stop and allow you to go!

Lanes  - This one, we still haven't figured out! You are driving along on a two-lane street (one lane heading north and one heading south), minding your business, when all of a sudden, someone pulls up on your right. Oh excuse me sir, I didn't realize this was a three-lane road. Let me move a little to the left to give you room. You proceed on this two-lane, now three-lane, with cars following in suit. What do you notice, another lane has formed on your left. OK. So now we have one lane going south and three lanes going north and everyone moving like it is all normal. No one is angry, no one is honking, everyone is just moving along and being as efficient with the space they have been given (even though I might be hyperventilating a little bit!).

Turn lane - As stated above, lanes are not really concrete, they are fluid. Every day I pull up to this intersection to take the boys to school. It is a four-lane road with a left turn lane. I place myself in the left turn lane. The street we are turning onto is a divided two-lane road. Every day, there will be people in the lane next to me, the one that should be going straight, that turn with me and zipper merge into the single lane. The first time it happened it caught me off guard and I almost ran into the median trying to get out of the way. What I have learned, if you are in the correct lane, others need to merge around you, but you need to allow it to happen in an efficient way. In addition to this example, we have been sitting at a six-lane road and have witnessed people turning left from the far right lane. You never know what you will find driving on the road!! And those in this turn lane, could be going straight!

Turn signal - Use them, don't use them, there is no difference. It is not the preferred way of merging or signaling. The preferred way is to angle your car in that direction and go.

No right turn on red - Don't do it, ever! Sit and wait and if you are lucky, the stoplight will count down for you.

Speed bumps/Lombadas - I have a love/hate relationship with these things. They are everywhere. Speed bumps reduce the number of stop signs, and help increase the efficiency of traffic. But, they are not always painted or marked and hitting those things at 30-40km/hr is a huge shock!

Retornos - There are not many options to turn left into your location. Instead you may drive one to two kilometers up the road before being offered a retorno, an ability to return the other way. Again, this is a very efficient way of moving traffic. Cars have the ability to continue movement without creating a build-up.

This video is the main street outside our condominio. It shows speed bumps and retornos. 

Thumps up gesture - We learned quickly that the 'OK' sign is NOT OK here! The OK sign is equivalent to the 'middle finger' in the U.S. This was a difficult transition, because I used this a lot in the classroom to signal to students. Now, just thumbs up. Thumbs up to the guards at the condo. Thumbs up to students. Thumbs up to drivers as a Thank You. To learn more about signs/signals that are dangerous in different cultures click here!


Speed Cameras - They are everywhere. What they mean to Brazilians: SPEED up to the camera, hit the breaks and go 20 km/hr BELOW the speed limit, speed up rapidly back to the speed you were doing before the camera. As far as I can tell, they are efficient. Many friends, and husbands, that I know have received tickets when not paying attention to the cameras. Police officers are not needed reducing funds needed. The camera takes a photo, you receive the ticket in the mail, login to a site, plug in some information and pay away. There is a certain amount of tickets you can receive before your license is revoked.

 

How do we avoid /prepare for them? WAZE! Google purchased Waze in 2013 to utilize their traffic information. In many other countries, Waze is the go to app for traffic information. Waze notifies us of speed limits, speed traps, speed cameras, traffic jams, and any other information we may need. 

Private Highways -

Patching roads - This is something I find most interesting. On the privately owned highways, patching is completed by a crew. On smaller public roads, you never know what you will get!

For example, this is a road we travel through every day. To and from school and work. It is a very busy intersection. The barriers are there to keep large trucks from traveling on the road. If you look closely, you can see patchwork in this area. As the holes appear, random people will come to fill them with all sorts of material. We have seen large rocks, plaster-like material, sand, and much more. These temporary fixes work for a few days and then someone else comes along to patch it up. Once it becomes really bad, it will be patched with cement/tar. We have enjoyed about a month of smooth driving, but the holes are beginning to appear again. This means some fun manipulation of the car as we swerve around the holes and the barriers.

It also amazing me the trucks that will attempt to travel through these barriers. We have seen so many trucks scratch their way through these concrete dividers. The sound is awful!

Just stop wherever - There are so many people that ride share here in Brasil. I think it is great! Saves money on gas, wear and tear on cars and allows for bonding time. However, drivers stop wherever they feel like to drop off passengers. The sidewalk, the middle of the street, right lane, left lane, etc. They will even drive over and into blocked off areas. This is done both during drop-off and pick-up times. Again, if you are alert, it really is not a problem, but I have seen many close calls and that is scary!

Motorcycles - Motorcycles have the right of way at all times. They have a special area at stop lights for motorcycles to stop in. They will drive in between cars, on the right or the left, to get to where they are going. Many of the motorcycles are used for delivery, so they have time against them.

 

Construction - As with any country, there is a lot of construction. Here, there is not much of a notification that a construction  area is coming up. 

People - They are everywhere! In town, and even on some very busy highways where traffic may come to a stop, there are people selling something. They will place things on your mirrors or show them to you in hopes that you will purchase them. We have seen peanuts, water, soda, chocolate, local treats, coloring books, rags (for cleaning people to use), and much more.

 

In addition, you will see people standing all over the sides of streets and busy highways waiting for a ride. Sometimes, a bus, other times just a car that will stop to pick them up! This can be scary in some situations as they are not easily seen!

Overall, it is different, but manageable. Observation and alertness is the key!