Skip to main content

France: Drowsiness, fatigue leading cause of deaths on motorways

Drowsiness and fatigue were the cause of 33% of deaths on motorways in 2012, according to an Asfa (Association of French Motorway Companies) study. Alcohol, drugs and medications were in second place (21%), in front of excessive speed (13%). The study also revealed that lack of sleep, driving at night, taking certain medications and suffering from sleep apnoea or snoring increase the risk of deadly accidents on motorways. Some professionals say that monotony on roads and reduced speeds are also factors tha
August 6, 2013 Read time: 1 min
Increased enforcement can help reduce road crash rates
Drowsiness and fatigue were the cause of 33% of deaths on motorways in 2012, according to an 7440 ASFA (Association of French Motorway Companies) study.  Alcohol, drugs and medications were in second place (21%), in front of excessive speed (13%).

The study also revealed that lack of sleep, driving at night, taking certain medications and suffering from sleep apnoea or snoring increase the risk of deadly accidents on motorways. Some professionals say that monotony on roads and reduced speeds are also factors that reduce vigilance. The study’s author underlines that on the motorway network, where the average speed is 127km/h, there are less deaths than on other roads in France.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Sri Lanka and India have toughened enforcement on drink driving
    January 8, 2013
    The authorities in India and Sri Lanka are targeting drink driving in a bid to cut crashes. Both countries have high road accident levels and with high annual fatality rates. In a bid to reduce the annual death toll, similar actions are being taken in both nations that focus on tackling drink driving. Data from Sri Lanka show that in 2012, there were 2,190 reported road-related fatalities and of these, negligence and drunk-driving were the main causes of crashes. But despite increased enforcement of traffic
  • Cannabis users are at risk from DUI
    February 16, 2022
    Cannabis users who drive are at serious risk from DUI.
  • The risk of drugged driving on Europe’s roads
    February 14, 2018
    Drivers under the influence of drugs present a major hazard to road safety, according to a new report. This publication is being highlighted by the Pan-European police agency, TISPOL, in a bid to improve road safety and cut casualties. The risk from driving under the influence of psychoactive drugs results in road fatalities and injuries from crashes right across Europe, according to the report. The problem related to both legal prescription medication, as well as illegal drugs. Both classifications can be
  • Increase in German car crashes cause for concern
    August 27, 2014
    The fatality rate on Germany’s road network increased in the first half of 2014, compared with the same period last year. The preliminary figures from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, show an increase in road deaths of 9.5% to 1,576 for the first six months of 2014. The level of injuries also rose by 10.6% to around 185,600 while the number of crashes in which people were injured rose 11.4% to 144,600. Overall however, the number of crashes dropped by 1.2% to 1.15 million. The reason for the i