Skip to main content

The French authorities aim to reduce highway risk by preventing drivers from falling asleep at the wheel

The authorities in France intend to reduce risks for road users on the country’s new highways.
April 11, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The authorities in France intend to reduce risks for road users on the country’s new highways. Research reveals that significant numbers of accidents occur when drivers fall asleep at the wheel. Plans to deal with this safety problem include installing rumble strips that would alert drivers should they stray from each lane. Around a third of fatal accidents on French highways are attributable to drivers falling asleep at the wheel, according to official data.

Related Content

  • Germany's worrying road safety issue
    May 14, 2012
    The latest data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveals a worrying increase in road related fatalities in the first three quarters of 2011. The death rate on the country’s roads rose by 5.9% to 2,938 for the period in comparison with 2010. However, the overall number of road accidents reported by the German police dropped by 1.4% to 1.71 million. These are preliminary figures and final data has still to be made available but the news of the increasing death rate gives major cause for con
  • The French authorities continue to drive down road deaths
    March 6, 2013
    The latest data available from France reveals a continuing reduction in road safety fatalities. The Ministry of the Interior has produced figures showing that road fatalities dropped 8% to 3,645 in 2012, when compared with 2011. Notable reductions were seen in deaths of motorcyclists, down 14.5% and car drivers, down 8.6%. However deaths of cyclists bucked the overall improving trend for French road safety by rising 10%, according to the French Federation of Bicycle Users. Further analysis of the crash data
  • Greater risk to pedestrians from safer cars?
    March 11, 2016
    A new study the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) in the US reveals that pedestrian deaths are increasing. The study is based on preliminary data from the State Highway Safety Offices. Following adjustments to that data for underreporting, the GHSA study estimates that pedestrian deaths increased 10% in the first half of 2015 compared with the previous year. Even without the adjustment, pedestrian deaths were still 6% greater, at 2,368 for 2015 than 2014.
  • Safety improvements seen on French, German and Portuguese roads
    July 12, 2013
    New data from Germany and Portugal reveals continued improvement in road safety, with a reduction in fatality levels for both countries. Final figures from the German Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveal a reduction in road related deaths for 2012. Some 3,600 people died on Germany’s roads in 2012, a 10.2% drop from the previous year. Meanwhile for the first six months of 2013, some 227 people were killed in vehicle crashes in Portugal, a drop of 18% compared with the previous year.