Identification of relevant factors in deciding the allocation of economic resources aiming at a safe traffic

Abstract

The decentralisation of traffic in Brazil, since the late 1990s, transformed the city into an important social agent in the contemporary scene of traffic education. The traffic executive bodies’ increase in revenue brings forth new challenges in the action of the municipality, demanding more professionalism in applying the takings, in a social context that expects, from municipalities, the production and transpiration of their actions’ effective results. Given this reality, the possibility of identifying factors capable of translating the complex issues of applying the funds raised by executive bodies of traffic is not a simple task. Most of the initiatives thereby will eventually fail, mostly due to the multiple aspects to be considered in addressing the problem. Aspects that should be contemplated are often overlooked or neglected, resulting in simplifications that tend to produce evaluation structures incapable of representing the process’ reality. This study aims to identify the relevant factors in making the decision to apply the funds collected through traffic tickets, from the views of various experts and managers of executive bodies for traffic within Brazilian capitals. The identification of these factors was possible by using the Delphi Technique, which was performed through seven rounds of interviews with 12 experts, and application of a questionnaire to 10 managers of the countries’ major capitals. The final product of this research was the construction of the hierarchical structure of these factors and their dimensions.