Road safety stabilises in France in 2016

Road safety stabilises in France in 2016 However injuries from road crashes increased by 2.6% in 2016 to 72,645 when compared with the previous year.
June 28, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

France has seen its road deaths stabilise during 2016, with only a slight increase over 2015. During 2016 there were 3,477 road deaths, an increase of only 16 over the figure for 2015, just 0.46% more. However, injuries from road crashes increased by 2.6% in 2016 to 72,645 when compared with the previous year. This represents an improvement over the last three years as 2015 saw road deaths increase 2.2% over 2014, while 2014 saw a growth in road fatalities of 3.5% over 2013. The figures come from France’s National Inter-ministerial Office of Road Safety (ONISR).

Of concern however are the worsening casualty rates amongst vulnerable road users. There were 559 pedestrians killed in 2016, an increase of 19% from 2015, while there 162 deaths of cyclists, an increase of 9% from the previous year. Road deaths for vehicle occupants dropped by 2%, however.

Of note is the fact that 20% of motorists killed in crashes were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of impact, while 4% of motorcyclists killed were either not wearing a helmet or had not secured it correctly.
Also of note is how road deaths have dropped over time in France. Road fatalities climbed throughout the 1960s and hit a peak of 16,545 in 1972, dropping to 15,649 in 1973. From then on the country’s road fatality rate has dropped more or less year-by-year until levelling out in 2014.

Related Content

  • Concern at high number of motorcycle deaths in US
    May 20, 2016
    Concern has been expressed at the high number of fatalities involving motorcycle users in the US during 2015. Preliminary figures from state authorities show that over 5,000 people were killed in motorcycle crashes in the US over the course of 2015. The full data has yet to be compiled and analysed but these early figures suggest an increase in motorcyclist deaths of 10% for 2014 compared with 2015, or around 450 more people killed than in the year previously. The report was released as part of the Gove
    Read More
  • Fatality levels are dropping on UK roads, but some cause for concern
    February 11, 2013
    The latest official data from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) show an overall drop in road-related fatalities. There were 1,760 deaths in road accidents to the year ending in September 2012, a 7% drop from the previous year when there were 1,883 fatalities. A worrying trend however can be seen with regard to vulnerable road users, with an increase in fatalities. The number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured in road crashes during this period increased by 4%, pedestrians by 6% and cyclists
    Read More
  • France saw its road fatalities climb in 2014
    June 4, 2015
    After several years of steady gains in road safety, France has seen a decline in 2014. Figures show that offences increased by 17% in 2014, with the fatality rate increasing 3.5% to 3,384 deaths in all. Injuries caused by road crashes increased by 2.4% meanwhile. Speeding and drunk driving were cited as the biggest factors in crashes in France. The only classes of road user not to see increases in road fatalities were motorcyclists and truck drivers. It is of note that 21% of the 1,663 car drivers killed in
    Read More
  • Increasing fatality and injury levels on UK’s roads
    September 27, 2012
    Concern has been expressed in the UK over the release of accident statistics for 2011 that reveal an increase in road fatalities over the previous year. This is the first national rise in road deaths and serious injuries in 17 years. In all 1,901 people died on the UK’s roads in 2011, an increase of 3% of the figures for 2010 while those seriously injured rose 2% to 23,122. Interestingly, the number of fatalities fell for three types of road user, with a fall of 22% for bus and coach occupants, 10% for moto
    Read More

Highlighted Content