The road safety report for this summer has just been released: although there were many accidents, the number of deaths is down.
It is the interministerial delegate for road safety who brings us some good news. The summer’s road accident report is “overall more favourable than last summer”. In fact, there have been many accidents, but deaths are down.
A summer with fewer deaths
The summer period is always conducive to accidents on the roads in France. And like every year, the results have just been announced. Fortunately, road deaths are on the decline for the summer of 2024. This is what the figures from the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory (ONISR) reveal.
In total, The months of July and August reported 569 people killed on the roads of Metropolitan France. This corresponds to a decrease of 4% compared to the previous summer. Looking in more detail, we understand that it is mainly the month of July that is encouraging. This counts 278 deaths, or 9% less than in the same period in 2023.
On the other hand, August shows a slight increase of 2% compared to 2023: 291 deaths this year. Vulnerable road users have been the most likely to lose their lives. But while road safety figures show a decline in deaths, accidents and injuries are on the rise.
Road safety reports more accidents and injuries
While there are fewer deaths, the number of victims is increasing during the two months of summer 2024. The ONISR reports 3,232 serious injuries. This figure was only 2,944 last year. In total, 4,152 accidents resulted in injuries on the roads of France, an increase of 8% compared to the same period in 2023. If we consider the figures for the last twelve months on the roads in France, road deaths have fallen by 7%.
This concerns almost all road users: -20% for cyclists, -12% for pedestrians and -7% for motorists. This is better than the same period between 2022 and 2023. Concerning motorized two-wheelers, the figures are stable. However, it would be interesting to take stock of the Paris ring road. The ban on motorcyclists and scooter riders on the left-hand lane divider could have led to an increase in accidents.
Indeed, the lanes dedicated to accredited vehicles prevented two-wheelers from circulating between the two leftmost lanes. These are therefore reported on the inter-file between the central lane and the right one. Or the two in the middle when the ring road has more than three lanes. A place where motorists are not used to seeing two-wheelers circulating. For the moment, the road safety figures do not reveal these details.
