Some traffic accidents are just that -- accidents. But with more than 1.2 million road traffic deaths each year, abiding by traffic signs and signals on the road is of the utmost importance for drivers; especially in low and middle-income countries, where more than 90 percent of traffic deaths occur.
Though police do their fair share to enforce driving laws, the Hermann Blumenau Rotary Club of Blumenau, Brazil, has taken it upon itself to do its part to prevent as many pedestrian traffic deaths as possible. In the video, members of the club, who have since been called Brazilian crosswalk guardians, pick up a car that infringed on pedestrian space, and carry it out of the crosswalk, back across the white line.
Pedestrian deaths are fairly prevalent in Brazil, which has a significantly higher road traffic mortality rate that Chile or Argentina. A recent report on Brazilian road traffic deaths averaged pedestrian mortality at 5.46 deaths per 100,000 people. For Blumenau, which has an estimated population of nearly 250,000, there are an estimated 13 pedestrian deaths per year.
The rotary club's video demonstration, created by marketing agency Free Multiagência, is part of a campaign -- Respect Life, Respect the Crosswalk -- that seeks to educate both pedestrians and motorists about the importance of crosswalks. Supported by local businesses, the three-year campaign launched on Sept. 2 in time for the country's upcoming National Traffic Week, club President Roberto Lucena told the Jornal de Santa Catarina.
Watch the Brazilian crosswalk guardians in action as they right a traffic wrong in the video above.