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Introduced in 2025, Bill 78/25 proposes that the traffic fine would no longer have a fixed value and would instead follow the market price of the vehicle, reducing the impact for popular cars, raising the charge for luxury models, and reopening the debate on justice on the roads.
While Brazil is still discussing the weight of year-end bills, Bill 78/25, introduced by Congressman Kiko Celeguim, has put the traffic fine at the center of a dispute over social justice. The idea is simple on paper and explosive in practice: the penalty’s value would no longer be the same for everyone and would take into account the market price of the car, using references like the Fipe Table.
Currently, a serious traffic fine starts at R$ 293.47 for any driver, regardless of whether they are driving a popular car financed over 60 installments or a luxury SUV paid in full. The proposal attempts to reverse this logic, making the infraction weigh proportionally to the wealth on wheels of each driver, bringing the Brazilian Traffic Code closer to models already tested in countries like Finland and Switzerland.
How The Traffic Fine Calculated By The Value Of The Car Would Work
According to the presented text, the traffic fine would cease to be a fixed number printed in the Brazilian Traffic Code to become a variable amount linked to the updated price of the vehicle.
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In practice, enforcement would continue to register the infraction in the same way, but the final ticket would carry a percentage adjusted to the value of the automobile.
The calculation base would be the average market price, determined by official indices, such as the Fipe Table, already widely used by insurers, banks, and dealerships.
A serious infraction for an entry-level car would cost less, while the same infraction for a luxury car would carry a much higher value, maintaining its punitive nature while distributing the financial burden in a scaled manner.
Who Pays Less And Who Pays More With The New Traffic Fine Rule
If the proposal advances, owners of popular models would be the main beneficiaries.
The same traffic fine that today significantly impacts the budget of low-income earners would represent a lesser impact, preserving part of the income allocated for food, rent, and basic bills.
On the other end, owners of luxury SUVs, imported sports cars, and high-end sedans would see the value of the traffic fine rise to match their consumption pattern.
The logic behind this change is clear: a fine only educates when it truly hurts financially. For those with high incomes, R$ 293.47 is often just an administrative nuisance, not a real incentive for behavioral change.
Principles Of Social Justice Applied To Traffic Fines
The project attempts to anchor the traffic fine in three main pillars to defend the change.
In the first, direct proportionality, the fine’s value would follow the vehicle’s price, bringing the punishment closer to the economic capacity of the driver.
In the second, social equity, the proposal seeks to prevent the same infraction from ruining the budget of a low-income driver and being irrelevant to a millionaire.
In the third pillar, reducing impunity, the expectation is that the heavier traffic fine for expensive vehicles will help curb risky behaviors among high-income drivers, who can currently easily absorb the cost of repeated infractions.
The bet is that fiscal justice within traffic translates into greater respect for rules and less feeling of impunity among those who consider themselves above the law.
What Phase Is The Project In And What Continues To Apply Today
Despite the public debate, the traffic fine proportional to the vehicle’s value is still far from becoming an immediate reality.
Bill 78/25 remains in its initial proceedings in the Chamber of Deputies, undergoing technical analysis in committees such as Transportation and Traffic, where the economic, legal, and operational impacts of the change will be discussed.
Until the entire legislative process is concluded and the final text is regulated by the National Traffic Council, nothing changes in how the traffic fine is calculated on a day-to-day basis.
The fixed amounts currently provided in the Brazilian Traffic Code remain fully applicable, with light, medium, severe, and serious infractions following the same national table.
What Other Countries Are Doing With Proportional Traffic Fines
The logic of adapting the traffic fine to the economic condition of the offender is not new.
Countries like Finland and Switzerland, often cited in road safety studies, use models where the fines consider income or wealth, creating penalties that can reach extremely high amounts for those who earn very high salaries.
In these systems, the message is clear: the greater the financial capacity of the driver, the higher the fine for the same dangerous behavior.
The Brazilian proposal does not completely copy these models but draws inspiration from the same idea that a traffic punishment loses effectiveness when it becomes just a symbolic number for certain social groups.
How This Change Could Affect Behavior On The Roads
If approved, the new way of calculating the traffic fine should redesign the perception of financial risk among different driver profiles.
For those driving popular cars, the expectation is for relative relief in isolated infractions, without the penalty disappearing.
For those flaunting high-value vehicles, the aim is to create an additional brake against speeding, dangerous overtaking, and other serious behaviors.
At the same time, experts warn that any change in the traffic fine must be accompanied by consistent enforcement, transparency in the calculation criteria, and clear communication with the public.
Without these elements, the proposal could fuel misinformation, a feeling of persecution against certain groups, or doubt about the real revenue-raising purpose of the policy.
Given a proposal that aims to make the traffic fine proportional to the vehicle’s value, easing the burden on those driving popular models, and making luxury vehicle owners pay significantly more for the same infraction, do you think this change truly improves justice in traffic or merely creates more controversy in a system that is already difficult for most drivers to understand?
Acho uma ótima ideia. Justiça econômica no trânsito.
Duvido que o Brasil institue essa nova lei porque é simples quem vai votar sobre o projeto de lei são justamente às pessoas que andam com automóveis de luxo eles não vão dar um tiro no próprio pé