Skip to main content

France to reduce national speed limit?

The French government is considering lowering the national speed limit from 130km/h to 120km/h on motorways and from 90km/h to 80km/h on roads. The move, being led by Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls, comes after the recent announcement of a drop in the number of deaths on roads in France during the first half of 2013.
July 15, 2013 Read time: 1 min
The French government is considering lowering the national speed limit from 130km/h to 120km/h on motorways and from 90km/h to 80km/h on roads.

The move, being led by Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls, comes after the recent announcement of a drop in the number of deaths on roads in France during the first half of 2013.

Valls has said that he wants to see the number of roads deaths fall below 2,000 a year by 2020. Speed limits may also be further reduced in cities.

A full set of formal proposals are due to be unveiled by Valls this autumn.

Related Content

  • 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.
  • Improved roadmarkings will boost roadway safety for users
    February 19, 2013
    An Innovative road marking system helping to boost public transport in a major South American city, and road marking analytic technology robust enough to withstand damage in heavy rain are among products examined by Guy Woodford . DEGAROUTE Methacylate (MMA) cold plastic area markings from Evonik Industries are being used as part of efforts to improve the public transport system in Santiago, Chile. By adding red pigment to the DEGAROUTE binder, distinctive and long-lasting red-coloured bus lanes are being c
  • French road safety improves
    June 3, 2019
    Road safety improved in France during 2018, compared with 2017. There were 3,488 road fatalities recorded in France during 2018, a drop of 5.3% compared with the previous year. This comes in spite of a gradual increase in traffic volumes in France, up 7% from 2013 for example. The data comes from the official body, Sécurité Routière. According to Sécurité Routière, the reduction in speed limits on France’s secondary road network has had a key benefit to overall road safety. The highest risk roads in France
  • Road deaths continue to fall in many countries
    June 4, 2015
    The latest information from IRTAD, the permanent working group on road safety at the International Transport Forum, shows that road deaths are falling in many countries worldwide. There were 42% fewer road deaths in IRTAD countries since 2000. However, strong disparities exist between countries, according to IRTAD’s latest data. In all 70 organisations from 39 countries are members of IRTAD. The 2014 provisional data show that 15 of the IRTAD member countries for which figures are available managed to red