Operation Carnival 2026, by the Federal Highway Police (PRF), began at midnight this Friday (13).. The action is the last and largest phase planned in the Operation Rodovida calendar, launched in December 2025.
Special monitoring and inspection work continues until Ash Wednesday (18) on federal highways.
Throughout the holiday, PRF teams will act “permanently and with increased intensity” in sections where infractions that can result in lethal accidents often occur, such as mixing alcohol and driving, speeding and prohibited overtaking.
“The PRF works with the expectation of great movement on the road corridors that lead to the most popular destinations during Carnival, such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina, Bahia, Pernambuco, Paraíba and Ceará”, informed the PRF.
An intense flow of vehicles in the opposite direction is also expected, as in addition to the traditional festivities that take place in several cities in the interior, many people travel in search of rest on the days of revelry”, added the highway police, remembering that carnival is the event most associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages on a large scale.
In 2025, more than 3.5 million alcohol tests were carried out by the PRF on the country’s highways. The inspection resulted in the fines of more than 9 thousand drivers and 43 thousand people were notified for refusing the breathalyzer test.
The PRF has created some tips for safe travel.
They are:
- Plan your trip and inspect your vehicle. It is essential to check the presence and functioning of all mandatory equipment, as well as all vehicle and driver documentation.
- Respect speed limits and obey signs. Where there is no signage or if it is impaired, maintain a speed compatible with road conditions.
- The driver and all passengers in the vehicle must wear seat belts. Children under 7 and a half years old must be using a baby seat, car seat and/or booster seat. In case of non-compliance, the driver may have the trip interrupted until the infraction is corrected.
- Always overtake on the left, only in permitted places and where there are all the necessary conditions to carry out the maneuver safely.
- Maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front to avoid rear-end collisions in cases of sudden braking.
- Be careful with pedestrians, especially in urban areas crossed by highways. Pay extra attention and reduce your speed whenever you notice the presence of pedestrians on the shoulders, near walkways and on the sides of highways.
- Carry light food and water for situations such as traffic jams and closures.
- In rainy weather, activate the windshield wipers, reduce speed and increase the distance from the vehicle in front. If necessary, stop, but off the shoulder.
- Motorcyclists and passengers must always wear helmets. Keep away from the rear sides of vehicles, which cause the so-called “blind spot”. Do not travel near trucks, as the air displacement produced by these vehicles can destabilize the motorcycle.
- Always drive with your headlights on, even during the day. This increases visibility to other drivers and pedestrians, as well as improving the perception of approximate distance.
