A new study found that 76% of drivers do not agree with government plans - set to come into force from July 1 this year - to lower the speed limit on secondary main roads across the country.
The 2018 Baromètre: Le Comportement des Français au Volant from risk prevention group AXA Prévention by Kantar-TNS questioned 1,560 representative drivers in January 12-29 this year.
Over half (56%) admitted to driving at 100-110kph on roads with a limit of 90kph, and 15% said they had driven as fast as 120-130kph on these roads.
Almost half (49%) of all drivers said they did not feel particularly safe on these roads, compared to just 38% who said they felt safe. Over one in ten (13%) said they felt definitely unsafe.
But the poll showed that this was not due to high speeds; 85% of those asked said they felt unsafe due to bad driving by others, and 56% blamed badly-maintained roads. Over one in five (23%) blamed bad signposts and lights.
The speed limit on normal main roads - those without a central reservation barrier - is to drop from 90kph to 80kph from July 1, affecting 400,000km of route.
The change is one of 18 measures introduced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a bid to improve safety on the roads, and the government claims the speed limit drop will save 350-400 lives a year by 2020.
Over half (55%) of all fatal vehicle accidents took place on such roads in 2016, official figures show.
Yet, the AXA poll found that over half of drivers (52%) said that the change in speed limit would be nothing more than “a hidden tax”, and 36% said the measure would be “useless”.
Eric Lemaire, president of AXA Prévention said: “This is a French affliction, a deep affliction. Speed is the biggest cause of fatal deaths. The French know this, but they do not slow down, and they do not respect the limits.”
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