Tweeting Ahead

Brazilians are amid the world's greatest fans of Twitter.

Now the microblogging site has turn the surroundings for a fighting of wits between military and residents of Rio de Janeiro over a drink-driving promotion well known as Operation Lei Seca, or "dry law".

Anyone who has had too many beers but wants to expostulate home can turn to a page on Twitter, where those who have seen the unmatched branded military vans inform others that routes to avoid.

In turn, the traffic military are logging on to foil the efforts of the techno-literate, frequently surroundings up in astonishing locations elsewhere.

Penalties add having your looseness suspended, being fined and having your automobile towed away. There has moreover been an advertising promotion to elevate awareness.

The Rio state supervision says since the dehydrated law began in Mar 2009, there have been more than 5,000 fewer cases of people being harmed or killed on the roads.

The campaign, that includes advertising to elevate awareness, has been deemed such a success there are skeleton to expand it to other Brazilian states.

Police end and breathalyse drivers in the mishap hotspots and make what is basically a zero-tolerance policy.

And with Rio's Carnival getting in to full pitch this weekend, military checks are being stepped up.

Co-ordinator Carlos Alberto Lopes, under-secretary in the Rio state government, is cheerful with what Operation Lei Seca has completed so far.

"I blame on these results to substantiating regular and efficient supervision and, especially, the recognition campaign, that has unequivocally altered motorist behaviour," he said.

But for a few Rio residents, the Lei Seca is only more neglected interference from the authorities.

Regular Twitter user Marcelo, who did not wish to give his final name, mentioned it was not only a way to splash and expostulate without apprehension of reprisal.

"I regard Lei Seca is a great thing, but infrequently we examine the Twitter page on my Blackberry if I've lost my pushing licence. It's only improved to expostulate without being disturbed about anything," he said.

"The military do infrequently examine the Twitter page too and pierce their location, but not always and not for several hours."

Another user, Rodrigo, says: "It isn't so ample that people wish to drink-drive. The open ride network is only so bad here. we live in Meier in the north of the city. If we expostulate to Gavea in the south zone, it will take me about half-an-hour, but if we took open ride it could be up to two hours.

"There is no metro in many of the town and buses only take too long."

The page, LeiSecaRJ, has been running since June 2009, 3 months after the dehydrated law operation began and right away has more than 150,000 followers.

"When the operations started, people were bell any other on their particular Twitter accounts. We only put all these warnings in one place. It was already a extemporaneous renouned movement, we are only supervising it," mentioned organiser Bruno Pontes.

The intention, he said, was to help people obtain around the city.

"As the number of supporters increased, we lengthened it to casing floods, power cuts and traffic together with Lei Seca operations," he said.

"The complaint with the Lei Seca operations is they aren't being used is to role for that they were intended. It's used to emanate income is to state.

"The commission of gross dipsomaniac drivers is insignificant, reduction than 1%, whilst the seizure of vehicles and other irregularities is 15 to 16 times higher."

But one-time illness apportion Jose Gomes has strike back at the Twitter page.

"The Twitter page is undermining our plan and great clarity of the campaign. It's harmful," he said.

LeiSecaRJ has been nominated for Twitter's Shorty awards 2011, an annual eventuality honouring the most appropriate producers of short, real-time content.

Mr Pontes says a win "would be covenant to the collaborative suggestion of Brazilians" and shows how really bad indispensable such data is.

"We have all the problems of a town wedged between the plateau and the ocean," mentioned Mr Pontes.

He is mission for improved security, 24-hour vessel services and subterraneous trains that would enable people to obtain home safely and rapidly without pushing after drinking.

Building an efficient ride infrastructure in Rio is a key issue, with the town set to horde the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years later.

A intrigue to expand the metro to the easterly segment of the city, costing $2.4bn (1.5bn) was voiced by Rio Governor Sergio Cabral on his re-election final October.

A $1.5bn (900m) programme of sight improvements was denounced at the same time.

For a few commentators, the use of Twitter to prevent Lei Seca operations is an e.g. of the "jeitinho", the Brazilian way of getting round the manners and by layers of frequently exasperating bureaucracy.

"The belief of probity is taken here in a very biased way. Some manners are treated with colour as important, whilst it doesn't appear to matter to disobey others," mentioned clergyman and long-time Rio proprietor Lauriane Whittaker.

"There is a mental disorder about crime, and people outlay their evenings examination guns and aroused crime on TV. On the other hand, there is a distrust of the military and people do not indispensably authorize of military activities."

Cheating the network is a way of induction scorn and creation a matter about viewed corruption, Ms Whittaker said.

"At the same time, amicable media allows people to feel reduction entangled since the earthy distance. If you post something on Twitter about Lei Seca, even if you know the man who reads it might be dipsomaniac and collision his car, it someway doesn't feel as real."