New measures in Brazil to combat dangerous driving

The Brazilian government is introducing tough new penalties for a variety of motoring offences in an attempt to reduce the high number of deaths on the roads.

In what's being seen as a radical step, drunken driving is now considered a criminal offence in Brazil.

Offenders will face a fine of eight hundred dollars, a driving ban and possible jail sentence.

In 1996, twenty-seven thousand Brazilians were killed in road accidents -- one of the highest ratios in the world.

The BBC Brazil correspondent says the problem the authorities now face is how to enforce the new rules.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service