They call it the “Sound Penalty.” It takes listeners from Paradiso to Inferno in an instant.

If the app on your phone detects you going over the speed limit it switches from the smooth sounds of Rio de Janeiro’s Paradiso FM to the Government Hour which for most Brazilians is pure “inferno” – the Portuguese word for “hell.”

Rio’s traffic is ranked 8th worst in the world.

Spokesman for the initiative Pedro Heckmann explains, “Our campaign is a direct intervention in each one of Paradiso’s radio user’s app transmission. Whenever the listener is driving, the app measures their speed and the car’s location. This way, if the driver goes over the speed limit, the radio transmission is interrupted for this driver only and they receive the Sound Penalty. The penalty’s audio explains that the driver is over the speed limit and therefore will have to listen to one minute of Government Hour – the most tedious public radio program. When this minute is over, all the driver has to do is stay within the speed limit that the radio’s schedule go back to normal.”

Apparently, the campaign has been so successful that most drivers stop their speeding habits after receiving just one Sound Penalty. Either that or they delete the app.

Pedro insists that the Sound Penalty is a strong deterrent, “The Government Hour is a standardised compulsory broadcast for all stations, which takes place at 7 pm every evening. This law exists for over 82 years, and is a nightmare for every Brazilian.”

Sound Penalty – Radio Sulamerica Paradiso FM from 3yz on Vimeo.