The National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) has decided to temporarily suspend the average speed control tests conducted on concessioned federal highways.
This determination was formalized through acts from the Road Infrastructure Superintendence (Surod), published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday, the 21st. The halt affects pilot projects that had begun in early September in eight different states.
According to the agency, this pause aims to allow for new technical evaluations and adjustments to operational procedures, signage, and how communication is made with drivers. The continuation of the tests is conditional upon explicit manifestation from Surod itself, and the regulatory body has not set a deadline for the next evaluation phase.
The experiments were scheduled to take place on highways located in Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo.
During the experimental phase, no driver suffered a penalty. ANTT clarified in a statement that the acts authorizing the tests clearly specified that the collected data could not be used to issue fines to users. It is important to note that traditional radars and other inspection modalities continue to operate normally; the suspension is limited only to the average speed pilot projects.
The measurement method differs from conventional fixed radar, which records the vehicle at a single point on the track. In average speed control, two or more monitoring points are used to record the passage of the automobile, allowing the system to calculate the total time traveled between these locations.
If the route is completed in less time than permitted by the road limit, an excess of speed is configured. It was precisely this functioning that drove the need for revision, as ANTT wishes to better detail in the signage and communication with drivers where exactly the monitored stretch begins and ends, as well as what the regulated speed is in that segment, to ensure understanding of the inspection.
This monitoring concept is not new in the country. On the BR-050, EcoRodovias has been implementing average speed monitoring since 2022. The concessionaire reported a 35% drop in fatal accidents on the stretch when compared to the first semesters of 2022 and 2026, a period that ended without fatalities, representing a 100% reduction compared to the same four-year interval prior.
The company attributes these results to a combination of factors, including educational campaigns and operations carried out in collaboration with the Federal Highway Police (PRF).
Finally, ANTT reinforces that the pilot projects are part of larger efforts to increase safety on Brazilian roads, aligning with the objectives of the UN's Decade of Action for Traffic Safety 2021-2030.