Possível impacto da "Lei Seca" nos atendimentos a vítimas de acidentes de transito em uma unidade de emergência

it's a quantitative and descriptive study. the goals were designated to determine the number of subjects, victims of traffic accidents attended at an emergency department of a municipal hospital in rio de janeiro, before and after implementation of the "prohibition"(lei seca), and identify the profile of this population and the characteristics of traffic accidents, estimating its prevalence before and after the term of "prohibition" (lei seca). there were analyzed 1531 records relating to traffic accidents occurred in 2007 and 2009. there was a prevalence of young adult male, mostly victims of hit-and-accidents involving motorcycles in both periods of study mentioned above. concerning the impact of "prohibition" (lei seca) was not observed a significant reduction in the number of victims on traffic accidents during the study period. however, there's no question about the importance of the law on a permanent basis, as this is a strong tool for the prevention of traffic accidents in the country.