November 11, 2022
In Brazil, the Statute for the Elderly establishes that 5% of the available spaces in public and private car parks must be allocated to vehicles driven by people over 60 years of age or transporting them. To do this, you must have a credential issued by the municipal government.
Until now, the signage for these exclusive parking lots for the elderly was indicated by the typical figure of the bent old man using a cane, but the National Traffic Council (Contran) has issued a resolution changing the model of the sign that identifies these spaces. From now on it will include a drawing of a person standing, with an upright posture and the indicative of “60+” next to it.
The resolution gives a period of five years for the license plate exchange to take place, but some cities in the country have already begun to adopt the new model.
The Brazilian website Portaldotransito.com.br collects the opinion of Eliane Pietsak, an educator and road safety specialist, for whom the image of the old man with a cane, in addition to stigmatizing the citizen, is far from reality: “The life expectancy of the elderly in Brazil grows year after year. This is great news. In addition, with the evolution of medicine, the practice of physical exercises and healthy eating, older people are gaining more and more mobility. And traffic must adapt to this new reality“, Explain.