Pile-ups, road trips and repeated accidents are part of daily life on the road network of Reunion Island. Not all serious or fatal, these accidents frequently occur in the same sectors of the island. Speed, telephone while driving, lack of vigilance, alcohol consumption and faulty signage… are among the main reasons for this road insecurity (Photo www.imazpress.com)
“One of the best jobs in Reunion is a bodybuilder,” even jokes an Internet user on social networks.
And that’s saying something. Almost every evening, those returning to the east often find themselves stuck at Duparc or the ravine des Chèvres in eastern Reunion.
Some even have the impression that “it's always the same place that it happens, it's not possible, people don't know how to drive”, confides a motorist who lives in Sainte-Marie.
In Duparc, moreover, the road which serves as both an exit towards Saint-Marie and an insertion towards the east in front of the shopping center is scary.
Between those who want to fit in, those who want to get out, those who don't let people pass or even those who speed up, Monique – who lives in the Beauséjour district – prefers to get out first, even if it means taking the road towards Duparc. “It really scares me to go out there, it’s always complicated to get into the lane and people drive fast.”
– Accident areas identified on national roads –
According to the Road Safety Observatory, “accidents are concentrated on national roads, “even more on the southern basin (Saint-Joseph, Saint-Pierre, Saint Louis and le Tampon) and north (Saint-Denis Sainte-Marie )”, state services indicate.
Duparc may be one of the examples of a particularly accident-prone area in Reunion.
However, if one could believe that it is on the interchange route that accidents occur the most, this is false. “In Duparc it is often on the left lane because motorists are driving very close together and obviously the collision is inevitable,” explains Pascal Robert, room manager at the Reunion Traffic Management Center (CRGT). A sector which sees 107,000 vehicles pass every day.
Also in Duparc, a fatal accident took place on November 4 between a bus and a cyclist, in an area described as accident-prone.
In the east there is also the Petit Bazar area in Saint-André, “a critical point”, he adds. “For this year 2024, Petit Bazar already has 38 material and bodily accidents recorded in the direction of Saint-Denis/Saint-Benoît”, indicate the figures from the Road Safety Observatory.
Read also – Accident in Saint-Benoît: three vehicles involved, one person seriously injured
Another risk zone, “the upper portion of the Route des Tamarins between Saint-Paul and Saint-Leu, particularly in the bends where motorists drive quickly”.
In the south, accidents are most numerous on the RN3 in the Ravine Blanche sector. Every day, more than 74,000 cars use this route.
Pierrefonds – at the RN1/D26 interchange – also remains accident-prone with two fatal accidents this year.
– 30 people killed on the roads of Reunion in 2024 –
As a reminder, in 2023, Reunion Island recorded “only” 30 road deaths. But the results appear more mixed when we look at the number of bodily accidents and the number of injured. The first is up 17% compared to the previous year (882 injury accidents over the year 2023) and the second is up 22%, with 1,120 injured, including 243 hospitalized.
In yellow are bodily accidents (minor injuries), in orange are serious bodily accidents (injured hospitalized for more than 24 hours) and in red are fatal accidents.
In 2024, as of November 21, the Departmental Road Safety Observatory (ODSR) lists in Reunion Island for the year 2024: 828 bodily accidents (slight serious or fatal. Material accidents are not counted. But also 1,015 injured including 305 hospitalized (more than 24 hours).
30 people also lost their lives.
Read also – Fewer road deaths, but more accidents and injuries
Read also – Dangers on the road: already six deaths (too many) in 2024
– Improvements to make the roads less dangerous –
To try to reduce the number of accidents on the roads of Reunion, some arrangements have been put in place.
These accident-prone areas are included in the radar deployment plan. “One will be installed in the coming weeks in Petit Bazar,” specifies the prefecture.
Read also – Turret radars: effective or not against accidents… that is the question
On the Tamarins road sector, “we carried out a campaign to recover the asphalt,” he says.
In addition, “on the Tamarins road near Saint-Leu which also remains an accident-prone portion, the speed has been lowered to 90 km/h instead of 110 km/h, over 1.5 km”, indicates the prefecture. .
“As soon as we notice an increase in accidents in a given sector, we implement work quickly,” indicates the CRGT room manager. “In consultation with the State, we either lower the speed or increase it.”
Furthermore, the police concentrate their controls on these areas known for their accident rate.
– The behaviors of the motorists in question –
The improvement of road infrastructure, the increase in controls and prevention operations have certainly borne fruit, but there is still work to be done, particularly on the behavior of motorists.
You should know that the majority of accidents are due to poor driver behavior (negligence, inattention, fatigue, recklessness, risk-taking) linked paradoxically to excess confidence.
And this overconfidence occurs more easily close to home, on familiar routes, in places that we know (too) well.
During rush hours, “there are traffic jams, a lack of attention and no respect for safety zones”, indicates Pascal Robert of the CRGT.
According to the Road Safety Conference which was held on October 29, 2024, in 55% of cases, alcohol is involved. In 41%, speed. One does not exclude the other. On the contrary, the speakers repeated it several times: alcohol (like narcotics) has a known double effect of “disinhibitor” and reflex limiter, with often tragic consequences.
The Réunion gendarmerie reminds of the need to respect road traffic rules. So motorists… take it easy and above all keep your eyes on the road.
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News from Reunion, Road safety
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