Skip to main content

France shows improving road safety while Germany sees decline

A very different road safety picture is emerging in two European nations, France and Germany. In France, the road fatality rate fell 4.7% for the month of June 2012, compared with the same period in the previous year. Some 320 people were killed on French roads in June 2012. In May 2012, the road death rate in France was only 0.9% lower than for the same period in the previous year. But in April 2012 the road death rate dropped 22.2% compared with 2011, 9% in March and 25.3% in February.
July 12, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A very different road safety picture is emerging in two European nations, France and Germany. In France, the road fatality rate fell 4.7% for the month of June 2012, compared with the same period in the previous year. Some 320 people were killed on French roads in June 2012. In May 2012, the road death rate in France was only 0.9% lower than for the same period in the previous year. But in April 2012 the road death rate dropped 22.2% compared with 2011, 9% in March and 25.3% in February. Over the first six months of 2012, the number of people killed on French roads was down 11.5%. In June 2012, the number of personal accidents reached 5,642, down 1.4% year-on-year, and the number of injuries was 7,053, down 1.6%. The number of people hospitalised, however, rose by 5.3%.

Meanwhile in Germany, the numbers of people killed in road traffic accidents grew 9.9% in 2011. The data was released by Germany's Federal Statistics Office, 5143 Destatis, and shows that the number of people who died in road traffic in Germany increased by 9.9% to 4,009 in 2011 compared to 2010. Of key concern is that data shows those who died in alcohol-related accidents increased by 17% to 400. However, the overall number of road traffic accidents registered by the police decreased by 2.1% to 2.36 million in 2011 compared to 2010.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Improved safety on German road network
    November 28, 2013
    Preliminary data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveals an improving road safety situation in the country. The latest figures show that the number of people killed in road traffic crashes in Germany decreased by 283 or 10.3% to 2,466 in the first three quarters of 2013 compared to the same period in the previous year. The number of people injured in road crashes in the first three quarters of 2013 period fell by 5.3% to around 279,100. Meanwhile the overall number of crashes registered
  • Safety improvements in developed nations
    August 20, 2013
    At a time when road safety is posing a significant threat to both human health and economic development around the world, it is worth noting that in many developed nations the situation is improving. The United Nations has identified road safety as a major problem and established its Decade of Action for Road Safety for the 2010-2020 period, in a bid to cut the growing death toll. But while developing nations are seeing a vast growth in vehicle numbers and road fatalities, the improving road safety situ
  • Fall in EU road fatalities
    May 10, 2012
    Latest statistics show road fatalities fell in the European Union by 11% in 2010 compared with the previous year. Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Luxembourg, Sweden, France and Slovenia have all made reductions of more than 50% in the number of deaths on their roads since 2001, says the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). The organisation’s 2011 PIN [Road Safety Performance Index] Awards went to Sweden and Lithuania recognising their particular efforts in reducing road deaths.
  • Road safety improvements and challenges worldwide
    May 24, 2012
    Road safety is again hitting the headlines worldwide, with new data showing accident reductions being achieved as well as highlighting areas for improvement. Several European nations showed major safety improvements. In Spain, the Home Affairs Office has published encouraging information revealing that the number of fatalities from car accidents fell in 13 out of the country's 17 autonomous regions during 2010. La Rioja region reported a drop of 47%, the best improvement in Spain, while the regions of Astur