Heavy traffic, speeding, using a cell phone while driving, drinking alcohol. There are several factors that help explain the increase in accidents on the highways that cross the largest cities in the Campinas region. On average, there were 3.4 occurrences per day between January and September 2026.
The data considers fatal and non-fatal occurrences available in the Traffic Accident Information System in São Paulo (Infosiga-SP). In the same period of 2025, the average was 2.8 occurrences per day.
In total, there were 945 accidents on the roads passing through Campinas, Americana, Hortolândia, Indaiatuba, Sumaré, Mogi Guaçu and Valinhos.
Occurrences between January and September 2026:
Campinas: 519
Sumare: 105
Indaiatuba: 82
Mogi Guaçu: 79
Hortolândia: 64
American: 56
Valinhos: 40
In the opinion of Luiz Vicente Figueira de Mello, mobility specialist and post-doctorate in transport engineering from Unicamp, the intense flow of vehicles on the highways in the Campinas region is one of the factors that help explain the risk of accidents.
According to him, these roads are used both by drivers traveling between nearby cities and by vehicles just crossing the region.
This movement brings together different types of vehicles, such as motorcycles, cars, trucks and buses, which circulate at different speeds and dimensions.
With the increase in flow, situations in which drivers need to share space and react quickly to unforeseen events also increase.
According to the expert, among the most vulnerable users are motorcyclists. Unlike those in a car, they do not have a structure around their body to protect them in a collision.
"The one most at risk is the motorcyclist, because he is smaller, he has nothing around him that can protect him", says Luiz Vicente.
The expert also warns that respecting speed limits is essential so that the driver has time to react in the face of unexpected situations. Using a cell phone while driving and drinking alcohol also increases the risks.
"Accidents can happen. We always need to know that that speed limit is exactly what you need to have that reaction," he says.
Motorcyclist dies after being hit by Camaro in Anhanguera, and driver flees without providing help — Photo: Motiva AutoBAn
Accidents in numbers
The volume of occurrences between January and September 2026 is 21.2% higher than that recorded in the same period in 2025. The only city without variation was Mogi Guaçu, with 79 occurrences in both years.
Campinas has the highest number of records, with 519 accidents in the first nine months of 2026, compared to 451 in the same period in 2025, an increase of 15.1%.
Hortolândia recorded the largest proportional increase among the seven cities analyzed. The number of accidents on the highways that cross the city went from 32, between January and September 2025, to 64 in the same period in 2026, an increase of 100%.
In Americana, the 56 accidents recorded this year represent an increase of 43.6% compared to the same period of the previous year (39). In the city of Sumaré, cases grew 41.9%, going from 74 to 105 occurrences.
In Indaiatuba, there were 82 registrations, compared to 68 in 2025, an increase of 20.6%. In Valinhos, the number went from 37 to 40, an increase of 8.1%.
Recent tragedies
The increase in incidents on highways is also reflected in the lives of families who have lost relatives in accidents.
In Hortolândia, the family of Josiane Rodrigues Alves, 39, is trying to adapt to the absence of her wife, who died after the car she was in was hit from behind by an Audi Q5.
The accident happened on the night of October 31, around 11:40 pm, at km 11.9 of Rodovia Jornalista Francisco Aguirre Proença (SP-101).
Josiane was returning home with her husband, Vanderson Luan Tavares, aged 36, and their two children, aged 8 months and 5 years, after attending the birthday of a friend from church.
Josiane Rodrigues Alves, 39, was returning from a church friend's birthday with her family when her car was hit by an Audi in Hortolândia — Photo: Personal Archive
The husband was driving a Hyundai HB20S when the vehicle was hit from behind by the Audi. With the impact, Josiane died on the spot. The other three occupants had minor injuries.
Vanderson also suffered a crack in his shoulder and needed medical attention. He says he doesn't remember the moment of the collision. According to the report, he had just entered the highway, after leaving a nearby neighborhood, and was driving at a speed between 70 and 80 km/h, or even less.
"When it happened, I only felt an impact and a light. I don't remember anything else", he says.
He claims that he only regained consciousness while being helped by people passing by. When he woke up, he saw his wife lying next to him and his children crying. At that moment, I believed that Josiane had just passed out because of the blow. The news of the death, according to him, only came at the hospital.
"In addition to the fractured shoulder, the heart is also fractured. Today we are missing a person who was very important, my friend, my partner, mother of my children. We always had the dream of being a father, being a mother, having a wedding, and being interrupted by that part is very difficult", he reports.
Another fatal accident recorded in the region also had an update this week. The 46-year-old driver of a Camaro, investigated for the death of a 32-year-old motorcyclist on Rodovia Anhanguera (SP-330), in Sumaré, presented himself to the Civil Police on Monday (9).
The collision happened on Sunday night (1st), around 10:52 pm, at km 108, on the road towards the capital. According to the Military Highway Police, the Camaro hit the rear of the motorcycle. The motorcyclist died.
After the crash, the driver left the scene. According to the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP), his wife came to the highway and reported that her husband was feeling ill. She stated that she took him to her father's house and then returned to the scene of the accident.
The driver had not been located until the initial report of the incident, which prevented the breathalyzer test from being carried out at that time.
In a statement to the Civil Police, the man denied having drunk alcohol or driving above the speed limit. He was interviewed and released.
The Civil Police is investigating the case as manslaughter while driving a motor vehicle, characterized by fleeing the scene of the accident. The investigations include analysis of images of the highway, witness statements and reports from the Legal Medical Institute (IML) and the Criminalistics Institute.
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