WHEN GPS DRIVES YOU TO DEATH

NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT

In the last decades, many other similar incidents have been reported. They are already part of Rio’s violent routine, and a constant risk. For instance, this year, the case with the Italian tourists was not the first, neither the last.

In May, during a shootout between police patrols and drug traffickers, a mother and her son were shot after accessing Vila Aliança favela, in Bangu neighborhood, Rio West Zone. While attempting to escape, 40-year-old Joseli Teresinha Hart, ran over and killed a pedestrian, 21-year-old Eduardo da Silva Guilherme. Mother and son used a GPS application to get to their hotel, but the App led them directly to a way that pass through the slum in conflict.

On 24 November, two incidents occurred. First, 52-year-old Military Policeman Luis Carlos da Silva was shot dead after accessing by mistake Cavalo de Aço community, in Senador Camará, North Zone. He was attempting to escape from a traffic jam, when he noticed that he had entered a gang-controlled area. At this moment, he committed another mistake, by attempting to escape abruptly, which drew the criminals’ attention, who shot him.

Not far from the first event, 46-year-old William Lúcio Lourenzo was shot, in Taquaral Road, inside Vila Aliança, North Zone. With a partner, he was completing a freight service from Três Pontas, in Minas Gerais state, to Rio. On Brasil Avenue, the GPS reported an alternative route to get out of traffic and shortly thereafter he was shot. He was taken by another driver to the Hospital, where he remains hospitalized.

DRIVING IN RIO REQUIRES CAUTION AND ATTENTION

In 2020, a Civil Police report on violence in Rio de Janeiro state forwarded to the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) gives an idea of the high risks that someone face by driving in Rio without any knowledge about the city risks. The report reveals that the organized crime operates in 1,413 communities in the state, more than half (763) are in the capital, according to data provided by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE-2010). Another large part is in the Metropolitan Region, the last census recorded the presence of 271 slums. Drug trafficking gangs dominate 81% of these territories, and the militia, 19%.

The largest drug faction, the Red Command (CV), controls 828 favelas. The second largest drug gang, the Pure Third Command (TCP), dominates 238 slums. Meanwhile, in third, the Friends of Friends (ADA) manages 69. The militia is in 278 favelas. In addition, according to the police, these territories are under the control of a great force, around 56,600 criminals at large, carrying large-caliber firearms, such as machine guns, automatic rifles, .50 rifles, grenades and more.

Fearful of police operations and of attacks promoted by enemy groups, the organized crime groups have acquired throughout the past decades a very powerful arsenal with high destructive capacity. A system of scouts in the entrances of the criminals’ territories is used to immediately warn about any invasion and repel them. That is why unsuspecting drivers are shot frequently. In this tense atmosphere, almost a war scenario, not identified drivers are seen as a threat, for them, possibly a car packed with enemies attempting an invasion.

Among the locals, to avoid this problem, criminals set many rules. In general, they tell dwellers to turn off the car headlights, turn on the interior lights, and the hazard lights. It is also essential to drive slowly and lower the windows. However, such instructions are spread informally, may change from one area to another, and almost never reach people from outside.

The gangs impose their authority by doing graffities with warnings and instructions, including on how to drive inside the favela. When drivers see them in time, it could help them to identify that they entered into a gang zone, and how to behave to avoid being shot. But, especially at night, it is not always possible to see them, and most of the time, they appear when it is too late.

When it comes to the official traffic signs, the city has its problems too. The lack or the bad positioning of signs indicating drivers the correct route to a specific location has already caused disasters.

DESTINATION RISK – SANTA TERESA, CHRIST THE REDEEMER, PARATY, BÚZIOS, GALEÃO AIRPORT…

Rio de Janeiro is a tourist destination, with many world-famous locations, such as Santa Teresa, Christ the Redeemer, Paraty, and Búzios. Not by chance, all these locations have become part of many stories of travelers that were injured and even killed while attempting to visit them.

In essence, two factors can explain that. First, the simple fact that they attract many unsuspecting people – foreigners, nationals and even locals. Second, and most importantly, the routes that lead to them are surrounded by many gang-controlled areas. Below, there are some cases to illustrate the incidents connected to these tourist spots and explain the importance and the risks of crucial routes used to reach them.

During the morning of 8 June 2013, engineer Gil Barbosa, who lived in Rio, while returning from Galeão International Airport, accessed by mistake Maré Complex, Rio’s North Zone. This is a very large favela, which is also divided by two gangs in conflict. On top of that, it is annex to three extremely important roads for the city: the Red Line Expressway, the Yellow Line Expressway, and the Brasil Ave. The first connect the downtown to the Baixada Fluminense and the airport. The second, links the West Zone to the North and the airport. Finally, the third, stretches itself from north to south. Almost everyone that visits the city uses one of these roads. That morning, after getting the wrong exit in Linha Amarela, Barbosa was shot in the head and died five days later.

Santa Teresa is a historic and artistic neighborhood in Rio Central Zone. Informally known as the “Montmartre Carioca”, it has many hotels, top rated restaurants, and a panoramic view of Rio. Tourists from all over the world visit it annually. In December 2016, while visiting Santa Teresa, 52-year-old Roberto Bardella, an Italian tourist, entered by mistake in Morro dos Prazeres, a favela controlled by the Red Command (CV). Bardella was shot in the head and died. He was experienced traveler, cruising on motorcycle through South America with a friend and had already visited Paraguay and Argentina, as well as Curitiba and Foz do Iguaçu.

A few months later, in February 2017, another tourist was killed in Morro dos Prazeres. The Argentinian Natália Cappetti was shot after accessing by mistake the slum. Natalia was in a car with her husband and another Spanish couple. On top of being close to Santa Teresa, this favela is also near the access to another world-famous attraction, Christ the Redeemer, where the two couples wanted to go. However, by mistake, they entered the favela and were shot at least six times by drug traffickers.

Paraty is an old coastal colonial city in the Green Coast, in the state South region, where there are many tourist locations famous for their natural beauties. In 2019, a Swiss tourist, 69-year-old Michele Angelo Galli, and his wife decided to visit the location. Though, to get there, they drove through Brasil Ave., part of BR-101, the main highway towards Paraty. Brasil Ave. has dozens of gang-controlled zones on its banks. It is also frequently affected by shootouts and mass robberies. The Swiss national ended up being shot in the chest after the GPS led him and his wife to a favela on the margins of this avenue. His wife, who was also injured, told the police that the GPS indicated a route through Cidade Alta, in the North Zone. Both had to be rescued by a Military Police patrol.

The most recent incident, on 20 November 2022, involved a family going to Búzios, a tourist city in Rio’s Blue Coast, another area of beaches and natural beauties but in the state North region. In this case, the family was not misled by a GPS. They would be escaping from a mass robbery taking place in a stretch of BR-101 known as Niterói-Manilha. This is one of the most dangerous locations for drivers in the state, known for many robberies, mass robberies, cargo robberies, and shootouts. The victims were from Rio and knew the way to their destination, but once forced out of their usual route, they ended up getting into trouble.

In addition, to the risks on the road, the city around it, São Gonçalo, is quite dangerous too. On the banks of the highway there several favelas controlled by gangs and militias. The family entered Jardim Catarina, a neighborhood notoriously violent. As soon as they accessed a secondary road, two passengers were hit by bullets, 44-year-old Cleicy Aparecida Vieira was left in critical condition.

TRANSPORTATION APPS

On 27 October 2022, 56-year-old app driver Paulo Alberto Lara Fernandes was shot dead by bandits when he mistakenly entered Rua Fernando Lobo, in Ricardo de Albuquerque, in Chapadão Complex, Rio North Zone. A year later, in October 2021, another app driver was killed. 29-year-old Flávio Amaral Teixeira, an Army soldier was shot dead while in Nova Iguaçu, Rio Metropolitan area. The driver was taking two people to the Dom Bosco neighborhood on a Sunday night when he entered a favela by mistake.

The stories above are just a few examples of the most recent cases of app drivers that lost their lives for not knowing the regions in which they were passing through.

When a visitor avoids driving himself, and instead hires a transportation service, he surely reduces risks, including chances of accessing a gang zone. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee.

The fact is that Rio is a quite complex and large city, with a huge system of streets that connects hundreds of neighborhoods, each one with specific characteristics and threats. A professional that faces this daily must have a certain level of knowledge to avoid putting himself and passengers at risk. On the other hand, the transportation apps have many part-time or new drivers who do not know the city as well as traditional yellow cab drivers.

Furthermore, the cars used by app drivers are regular vehicles, and do not have any type of sign identifying them. Meanwhile, taxis are properly identified by a specific paint pattern and a sign on the top of the car. These factors reduce even more chances of incidents with gangs.

RIO IS NOT ALONE

Rio de Janeiro is not the only location in Brazil where gang-violence has become a threat for drivers. Heavily armed drug traffickers in constant war for territory, the basic elements for this phenomenon, are present in many other locations, like the Baixada Santista (SP), Vila Velha (ES), and more.

For instance, on 20 November 2017, a GPS instructed Luiz do Santos, a tourist visiting the Baixada Santista, to drive to Mexico 70, a slum in São Vicente, near the important Imigrantes highway and Santos city. There, he was approached by armed criminals who attempted to rob him. However, Santos, who was also a police officer, managed to quickly respond and shoot the suspects.

On 6 May 2020, in Vila Velha city, Espírito Santo, two salesmen were attacked while returning from a day of work. They were driving from Primeiro de Maio neighborhood to Jardim Marilândia. However, as both were from Minas Gerais, they used a GPS to reach their destination. The device guided them directly to a dead-end street in an area known as “Faixa de Gaza”, due to the violence caused by drug trafficking. The salesmen were surrounded and shot but managed to escape.

EFFORTS TO AVOID INCIDENTS

Companies and public authorities have been trying to implement actions to avoid that such incidents continue to happen.

One project was undertaken by Waze, an app that offers a GPS service with traffic information updated by its community of users. Shortly before Rio Olympics, in August 2016, due to the numerous cases involving drivers who entered favelas by mistake, Waze mapped 25 areas that exposed users to risks. Thus, drivers started to receive an alert when the traced route included stretches in these regions.

In 2019, Mayor Marcelo Crivella sanctioned Law nº 6,469, which requires geolocation devices and applications to offer sound alerts and notifications to users in case of proximity to risk areas in Rio city. According to the text, risk areas are those with armed conflicts, regions with permanent police incursions, with many robberies and thefts, considering information collected from the Public Security Institute (ISP) or public bodies, and public and private entities that study the subject.

Despite the effort to put an end to the attacks against drivers, the many recent cases described above show that a reliable solution has not yet been found.

Therefore, in order to reduce risks and mitigate potential losses, the recommendations below should be followed:

• Always prefer the itineraries you already know
• When you are completely new to a region, never drive yourself. Prefer to use local transportation services. In Rio and in São Paulo, cooperative taxis and transfer services are good options
• Have a Journey Management Plan prepared before the trips. Especially if they are a routine
• Remain on the main streets, avoid the secondary ones
• Use only GPSs with up-to-date databases, changes in the roads characteristics, such as new lanes, closed accesses or new viaducts can throw the driver in an unwanted place
• When using a GPS App or device, check if the responsible company usually updates the maps frequently
• Typing the address on the GPS before starting the trip also helps, since this way it is possible to research about the destination, calculate the estimated travel time and more details that can help people avoid getting the wrong route
• In large urban centers, there can be two addresses with the same name, so when typing the destination address, it is important to pay attention to all the elements. This way, it is possible to avoid some route errors due to homonymous streets
• Only use the option “shortest way” if you know the route
• When the GPS takes the driver to a wrong place, he/she must calm down, stop, and seek guidance. Public facilities are considered safer points for this. If not possible, local commerce is always a good option
• In case you end up in a favela, there is no 100% safe procedure, but certain measures, such as turn off the headlights, turn on the interior light, open all the windows and turn the vehicle slowly without sudden movements