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Laurent Derne
Published on
Nov 6, 2024 at 6:08 a.m.
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It's one of the new scourges of driving. Until then, the vitessel’alcohol and the use of portable were the main causes of fatal accidents on the roads of Occitania. Recently, official statistics from the Haute-Garonne prefecture have revealed a booming phenomenon: drugged drivers.
High on cocaine, he fatally mowed down a cyclist
Recent (and tragic) news has shed a very harsh light on this trend. Friday 1is November 2024, a 28 year old cyclist has been fatally struck by a motorist who said he had been “dazzled by the sun” but who was mainly driving “on cocaine”, according to a source close to the investigation.
Daily use of drugs while driving is becoming dangerously commonplace.
“In fact, it is simply drug consumption that is becoming commonplace on a daily basis. Products like cannabis or cocaine remain present in the body for a long time. And afterward, people get behind the wheel, sometimes without even imagining that they are positive and that their lucidity on the road is reduced”
Risk of accident multiplied by 14
However, the law provides for 2 years in prison and a fine of 4,500 euros for those who resist. And 3 years and a fine of 9,000 euros if alcohol and drugs (cannabis, cocaine, etc.) are detected at the same time. A explosive cocktail Who “multiply by 14 the risk of an accident while driving”, according to Road Safety.
One death per week in 2023
And 2023, and Haute-Garonne50 victims lost their lives on the road, or around one death per week on average*. Eight fatal accidents involved the use of narcotics. As much as for alcohol.
A figure which unfortunately remains stable in 2024: without counting the Flourens accident, we officially record 5 fatal accidents under drugs end of September.
“To fight against this phenomenon, we must increase the number of controls, on the road of course, but also at the deal points, to disrupt the supply of consumers. But for this, we need manpower.”
The union representative says: “We keep losing staff. With the removal of cameras for police custody cells, crews must be assigned to the police station to monitor them. There are fewer police officers on public roads,” regrets the Alliance delegate.
Heavy toll
As is often the case, these are the most vulnerable users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorized two-wheelers – who pay the heaviest price for these risky behaviors. “They represent two thirds of the deaths in Haute-Garonne,” notes theRoad safety observatory.
To stick to current events, 4 of the 39 road deaths in 2024, according to the count taken at the end of September, were cyclists, all male (i.e. 10% of deaths).
Exploding cocktail
In Haute-Garonne, 18% of deaths are in accidents involving alcohol. However, it is one of the lowest rates in Occitanie (sic), five points below the regional average. Alcohol and drugs now appear with touch-button in the department as causes of fatal accidents.
Friday October 25, 2024 is precisely this explosive cocktail which led to the death of a 12-year-old boy, in the town of Labastidesouthwest of Toulouse.
The young victim was a passenger in an unlicensed cart, hit by a 35 year old motorist who “drove at high speed after having consumed alcohol and cocaine”, according to the Toulouse parquet. The offender was taken into custody.
10 years in prison and 150,000 euros fine
Occurred fifteen days after the death of Paul Varry27, crushed by an SUV in Paris, the accident in Flourens has revived the wounds of the cycling community of the Pink City. She who tirelessly pleads for a more peaceful cohabitation in public spaces, and arrangements to strengthen its security.
Placed in pre-trial detention following his police custody, the 39 year old driver involved in the Flourens accident was indicted by a Toulouse investigating judge for “aggravated manslaughter”. He incurs 10 years in prison et 150 000 euros fine.
*In 2023, Haute-Garonne recorded 535 road accidents, causing 50 deaths and 654 injuries.
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