essential More fear than harm this Sunday, May 4. In the town of Miélan, a road accident involved four young people from 17 to 25 years old. No vital prognosis is ultimately committed, but this outing of the road still questions the involvement of young people in bodily accidents taking place in the Gers.
The end of the evening almost turned into a nightmare. It was 1h09, this Sunday, May 4, when a car circulating on the RD1 021 in the Tarbes-Mirande direction, up to Miélan, successively struck a central media, a sidewalk, then several trees, before stopping on the road.
On board, four young people. Two of them, a 17 -year -old passenger and a 21 -year -old man, installed in the back without a seat belt, were ejected under the violence of the shock. The driver, 19, and his 25 -year -old passenger, who wore their belt, were more slightly injured.
Mayors of worried municipalities
The young people are from neighboring municipalities: prints, Mirande and Montesquiou, according to Jean-Loup Arenou, mayor of Miélan, present on the scene a large part of the night. In Montesquiou, the emotion is lively. “This is a very sad situation. We first think of families and hope for a good recovery,” says Étienne Verret, the mayor, while specifying that he cannot confirm with certainty that one of the wounded is his commune.
According to the police, the results of toxicological analyzes (alcohol and narcotics) were not yet available on Monday. None of the wounded is in vital danger, and injuries, deemed unusual, are being healed. Only the 17-year-old passenger is not from the Gers, but the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Christian Abadie, mayor of Estampes, confirms that the driver lies in his town. “It was his car. He is very discreet, like his parents. It’s been a long time since I saw him. Unfortunately I can’t say more,” he explains. The elected official is concerned about the repetition of accidents involving young drivers. “What is worrying, today is the trivialization of narcotics. Before, it was especially alcohol and speed. Now, we accumulate alcohol and drugs … And it is an explosive cocktail. Luckily, that night, no other vehicle was circulating in front. But the drama could have been much more serious.”
More and more young people involved in bodily accidents?
An accident that echoes that occurred last month in Samatan. Five young people were aboard the vehicle, driven by a 17 -year -old teenager, tested positive for alcohol. Three passengers were slightly injured, while a 23 -year -old had to be evacuated urgently to a Toulouse hospital. In 2024, it was an accident in Saint-Paul-de-Baïse, involving seven minors, all without a license.
The observation is worrying: the Gers is experiencing an upsurge in road accidents. In 2024, bodily accidents increased by 16 % compared to 2023, with three additional deaths. A trend that is also observed at the national level, where the ONSIR (interministerial national observatory for road safety) records an increase of 0.7 % of deaths.
Young drivers are particularly concerned. In the Gers, 14-24 year olds are involved in 33 % of body accidents in 2024, and 31 % in the first quarter of 2025, the prefecture indicated in our columns. However, road prevention nuances these figures: “The 18-24 year olds were the least affected by fatal accidents in the department, unlike the national trend,” noted Christel Fabre, Occitania regional director of the association.
As for the decline in the legal age of permit at 17, in force since January 2024, it does not seem to have a significant impact on this increase. “The accident rate for 17 -year -olds is not higher than that of other age groups. But we remain attentive to the evolution of this device,” said Christel Fabre.
