Motorcycles pose high risks in Brazilian cities
“I saw the car cutting us off and then I passed out. Luckily, traffic was very slow and he wasn’t speeding. But before that, the motorcyclist had been speeding. I used this service a lot, and almost every time they were speeding and checking their phones—a huge risk.”
This is the story of 59-year-old housekeeper Laura Maria de Oliveira, who chose a ride-hailing motorcycle to save about an hour on her commute.
Oliveira spent 14 days in the hospital awaiting surgery to treat the shaft of her humerus (the central part of the arm bone, between the shoulder and elbow) and her clavicle, as well as to repair her radial nerve. Now, a year and five months later, she is preparing for a third procedure to remove the plate inserted in her humerus, which limits her elbow movement. Even so, she may never fully recover. She continues treatment at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics in Rio de Janeiro and has not yet been able to return to work.
“For me, this means of transportation no longer exists. I have a son who owns a motorcycle, and I don’t even ride with him anymore. I don’t want to go through that again in my life,” said Oliveira.
Dangerous alternative
The growth in motorcycle use in Brazil reflects a risky alternative chosen by those whose right to mobility has been neglected. This warning comes from Victor Pavarino, technical officer for road safety and unintentional injury prevention at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Brazil.
“What’s happening is both a consequence and an indicator of the problems in this mobility system, which is centered on and modeled after its majesty, the automobile. It has been designed this way since the 1950s, and now it’s collapsing,” the expert criticizes.
With a PhD in transportation from the University of Brasília, Pavarino explains that in cities designed primarily for private cars and lacking comprehensive or high-quality public transportation, motorcycles are increasingly becoming a popular transportation option.
On the other hand, lower-income families are purchasing motorcycles because they are more affordable than cars. Informal workers seeking income—such as delivery drivers and motorcycle taxi riders—often take risks with exhausting workdays, lacking the protection of formal employment or social security.
“The entire traffic issue, regardless of mode of transport, is directly linked to social and economic factors. But in the case of motorcycles, this connection is especially glaring. In a way, it highlights the social, economic, and labor implications of transportation,” explains Pavarino.
Growing fleet
The motorcycle fleet in Brazil is expanding. According to the Brazilian Association of Motorcycle, Moped, Scooter, Bicycle, and Similar Vehicle Manufacturers (Abraciclo), the number of two-wheeled motorized vehicles grew by 42 percent between 2015 and 2024, reaching 35 million units nationwide.
Last year alone, motorcycle sales increased by 18.6 percent, reaching their highest level since 2011. For 2025, another increase of 7.7 percent is expected, surpassing 2 million registrations within a year.
If only motorcycles are counted, there were 29 million vehicles in circulation in Brazil as of June 2025, according to the National Traffic Secretariat (Senatran). Five years earlier, in 2020, the country had a fleet of 23.4 million, showing an increase of nearly 6 million motorcycles on Brazilian streets during that period.
“In a way, what’s happening with motorcycles is that a huge segment of the population—not just in Brazil—is resorting to a mobility option that was denied to them for decades,” Pavarino reflects. “It’s difficult for us to say that motorcycles can’t or shouldn’t be used when, in many cases, such as in favelas, they are the only way a large portion of the population can get home and earn a living,” he adds.
Among the main responses needed, the PAHO road safety specialist advocates for measures with collective impact, such as strengthening public transportation, adopting zero fares, and encouraging walking and cycling by creating more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly cities.
These measures must be adopted to halt the migration of public transportation users to motorized individual transport, with motorcycles being the riskiest option.
At the opening ceremony of the National Road Safety Conference held last week in Brasília, National Traffic Secretary Adrualdo Catão highlighted that issues related to motorcycle use mainly occur in mid-sized cities experiencing rapid growth without corresponding investments in public transportation. Additionally, in six states across the North and Northeast—Piauí (55%), Pará (54%), Maranhão (60%), Rondônia (51%), Acre (53%), and Ceará (50%)—motorcycles account for more than half of the vehicle fleet.
“We can’t treat this issue as merely an individual choice. Citizens choose motorcycles because they haven’t been provided with a safe alternative. There’s no silver bullet for this problem, but if there were, it would be quality public transportation,” said Catão.
Deadliest vehicle
Along with increased mobility and employment opportunities for drivers, the country’s growing motorcycle fleet has also contributed to a rise in traffic fatalities. According to the 2025 Atlas of Violence, motorcycle users are currently the largest victims of traffic accidents in Brazil, which has experienced an increase in deaths since 2020.
In 2019, Brazil recorded 31,945 traffic fatalities, a figure that increased in the following years to reach 34,881 in 2023. During the same period, the number of motorcycle accident victims rose from 11,182 to 13,477.
These figures show that for every three people who die on the road in Brazil, one is a victim of a motorcycle accident.
Although motorcycles make up only about 22.5 percent of vehicles on the road in the country, collisions, falls, and run-overs involving motorcycles accounted for 38.6 percent of traffic deaths in 2023.
This mortality rate is even higher in states where motorcycles have already outnumbered cars. In Piauí, for example, where motorcycles account for over 50 percent of vehicles, motorcycle accidents cause nearly 70 percent of traffic deaths.
Immediate responses
While it is necessary to encourage public transportation and address the inequalities driving the growth of motorcycle use, the immediate harm caused by their spread can be mitigated through short-term measures. Enforcing compliance with safety regulations is among the most important, explains expert Victor Pavarino.
“We cannot fail to respond to what is happening right now, immediately. People are dying on the roads as we speak,” he states, citing essential precautions. “The use of helmets, for example, appropriate clothing, high-quality maintenance, ABS brakes for motorcycles, and more—all of these measures will help reduce harm.”
The range of measures suggested by PAHO, supported by observed evidence, also includes mandatory use of daytime running lights, ensuring high-quality road pavement, wearing light-reflective clothing, conducting periodic vehicle inspections, and reducing speed limits in cities.
In this scenario, the transportation of passengers by app-based motorcycle drivers requires regulation not only of traffic rules but also of worker health, argues Pavarino. “These people work eight to twelve hours a day, and under such conditions, they become even more vulnerable,” he emphasizes.
In addition to coping with the fatigue and strain of long hours in traffic, these motorcyclists also have to operate their vehicles while often carrying inexperienced passengers.
“Unlike in a car, a motorcycle passenger is, in a way, also driving. They play a role in how they position their body, leaning back and forth on curves,” says Pavarino.
Epidemic
Just as the number of motorcycles and traffic deaths is rising, so is the number of people treated in emergency rooms within Brazil’s public healthcare system, the SUS, due to collisions, falls, run-overs, and other two-wheel accidents.
According to Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, on average, 70 percent to 75 percent of adult intensive care unit beds in general hospital emergency departments are occupied by patients who are victims of traffic accidents, and the vast majority of these patients were riding motorcycles.
“No hospital can handle this if we don’t address the veritable epidemic of motorcycle accidents,” said the minister, who took part in a ceremony on Friday (Aug. 1) announcing funding to triple the number of orthopedic surgeries in Rio de Janeiro.
Padilha advocated for partnerships with ride-hailing companies to strengthen efforts to prevent traffic violations, such as speeding.
“Sometimes, a cancer or cardiac surgery that someone has been waiting for a long time gets canceled because a motorcycle accident victim arrives at the emergency room and needs to occupy the operating room or an ICU bed. So, beyond the financial cost and the impact on the injured person’s life, there is also a cost to hospitals, the healthcare network, the system, and other patients,” he added.
