in the Eure, a father fights against the chicanes

Almost a year after the death of his son Maxime, Thibaud Dupeyré is combative. On March 16, 2024, Maxime, 26 years old, was on the road between Elbeuf and Le Neubourg (Eure). He will pick up his order at McDonald's and return home to Marbeuf to watch the last match of the Six Nations Tournament, France-England. It is around 8:40 p.m. when Maxime passes through Amfreville-Saint-Amand. On the D840, a chicane was installed in 2021 to slow down the speed.

Terrible face-to-face

On each side of the departmental road, blocks were placed a few meters apart, to break the straight line, force cars to slow down or stop. Maxime has the priority, he enters with his Fiat Punto and is hit by a motorist, arriving in front, at the wheel of a Volkswagen Touareg. The shock is terrible. The difference in mass between the two vehicles leaves no chance for Maxime, who dies instantly. The other motorist escaped almost unscathed.

800 kilometers away, Maxime's parents see two gendarmes and the mayor of the town of Gers to which they moved a few years ago arrive. At 11:30 p.m. they learn the death of their son.

Thursday January 16, 2025, justice found the motorist guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He was driving at fast paced and drunk. “We felt a deep feeling of justice,” expresses Thibaud Dupeyré, who had to fight to prove that Maxime was not responsible for the accident (which the gendarmerie had concluded, at first glance).

But the fight does not end there for the father. Today he wants to “make things happen” and warn of the dangers of chicanes. “We went to the site, to Amfreville-Saint-Amand. It's a dangerous chicanery, extremely poorly placed and poorly signposted. It is located just after a slight left turn, on a long straight line,” says Thibaud Dupeyré.

An aberration that sends vehicles against each other.

In September, Maxime's father created a petition against this road safety system which is multiplying at the entrance to towns, in Eure as in the rest of France. “ An aberration that sends vehicles against each other by neutralizing the right lane to “force” drivers to slow down,” says Thibaud.

The father regularly witnessed “ perverse effects » double lock chicanes, « non-priority cars accelerate to go before the one that has priority.” In the case of his son Maxime's accident, the at-fault motorist explained that he had not seen the Punto. “When you don't respect the highway code, when you drive too fast, you risk a fine and loss of points. With a chicane, if we force the passage, we risk the death penalty“, he believes.

A petition against chicanes

Thibaud Dupeyré does not understand why it is this device which was chosen at this precise location, since at the other entrance to the town, it is a chicane with a central island, “which keeps the cars away”, which been installed. “I imagine that installing a double lock chicane costs little, it's just studs. But how much is a life worth?» The father goes further, he believes that, even if the motorist who hit Maxime was drunk and driving fast, “ without this argument, my son would be alive.The driver opposite would surely have passed Maxime, even quickly, but my son would probably still be there. »

Thibaud Dupeyré collected nearly 500 signatures on his petition. “I am fighting for the chicanes to disappear. There is dysfunction, especially when it is not appropriate for the location. » The father would like to start action at the political levelpresent his fight to the deputies, act for Maxime. “Our life, without him, will never be the same. »

A device “no more dangerous than any other”

For the Department of Eurechicanes, like other road safety devices (locks, traffic lights, speed bumps, etc.) are not not dangerous. ” It's necessary that people respect the highway code e, supports Thierry Plouvier, vice-president of the Department in charge of mobility and road infrastructure. For a chicane, as for any safety device, there is a priority lane. It's not up to the strongest or the fastest to pass.  »

According to him, car accidents linked to chicanes are rare, and this device is “no more dangerous than any other”. “There are always people running red lights, racing at 80 km/h on a raised plateau…”, he quotes. Speed ​​control devices “work if they are respected. If you ask a mayor if things are calmer in terms of speed in his municipality, he will answer yes, but there is a “but”, because there are people who do not respect the speed limits. I am the first to be sorry, but, unfortunately, we can't do much about incivility.  »

Concerning the Amfreville-Saint-Amand chicane, a subsidy from the Department was granted to the municipality in the amount of €8,305, in 2021, for road safety improvements.

The Department receives “between 250 and 280 grant applicationsper year” for security arrangements. On a case-by-case basis, depending on the route, traffic, and problems encountered, the Department issuesa recommendation on the preferred security device “but it’s the municipality that decides.” The Department cannot confirm that it had recommended a chicane at the location of the accident.

According to Certu (Center for studies on networks, transport, town planning and public construction), locks (baffles with one or two locks) are part ofcheapest devices to installless expensive than raised platforms or chicanes with a central reservation.

Are they privileged for this reason? Thierry Plouvier doubts it. “The envelope allocated to security arrangements is1.8 million euros. We finance up to 70% of the cost. So even if a municipality installs a traffic light for €30,000, it only has €9,000 left to pay.Is the life or peace of those administered worth 9,000 euros?Is it better to spend 4,000 balls on fireworks or put them in a safety arrangement? »

When contacted, the municipality of Amfreville-Saint-Amand did not respond to our requests.

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