Road deaths down in 2012

ROAD accident death figures were down last year, show data publicised by radio station RTL.

The station said it had seen “raw data” for road accident deaths last year, which showed 3,700 died in 2012, down about 300 on the previous year.

The figures come as a national road safety council meets today to discuss matters including whether or not to go ahead with fines for not carrying breath tests and whether to bring in a “zero tolerance” alcohol policy for young drivers.

However the president of road safety campaign group Ligue Contre la Violence Routière, Chantal Perrichon, told RTL she thought the continuing economic crisis was probably the main reason for the drop, as opposed to policies like installing extra speed cameras. “People are buying fewer cars and less petrol and driving more slowly,” she said.

This year there are plans for 200 more fixed speed cameras to be installed and, in the next few weeks, the first so-called “mobile-mobile” cameras should be put into use. These can be installed on moving unmarked police cars, capable of flashing and automatically fining up to seven motorists a minute.