Driver checks to increase around Lyon after high number of fatal crashes

Road deaths have sharply risen in Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) since the start of 2025, leading to an increase of driver police checks. 

The rise in driver fatalities is not solely concentrated in the city, it also concerns the surrounding department of Rhône, where a total of 29 driving-related deaths have been recorded since the start of the year, compared with 13 in the first five months of 2024.

Incidents are happening in urban and rural areas, as well as on motorways.

The local prefecture is therefore encouraging caution from all road users and has announced an increase in driver checks.

This action aims to halt the rising number of motorists who are speeding or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“The number of deaths since the start of the year is unacceptable,” wrote Antoine Guérin, Rhône’s prefect delegate for security, on social media. 

Mr Guérin accompanied the departmental police while they carried out roadside checks on June 14.

The Gendarmerie stopped one moped driver who tested positive for drugs and issued fines to numerous road users:

• 17 drivers were using their mobile phones, including five cyclists.

• 12 drivers ran a red light.

• Three motorcyclists were not wearing gloves.

• One driver crossed a continuous line.

• One person was driving a vehicle with bald tires.

Six pedestrians killed

The number of road incidents in the department remains stable, however fatalities are rising, reports Le Figaro.

These figures do not just affect drivers. Six pedestrians were killed in the first four months of 2025, compared with one in the same period last year. 

Similarly, while one cyclist died at the start of 2024, four cyclists and drivers of electric scooters died between January and April this year.

Six motorcyclists also died this year, compared with two at the start of 2024.

Five car-users died at the beginning of 2025, compared to four during the same period last year.

Increased checks across France

Fatal road incidents are also on the rise across several French departments and regions. This includes Puy-de-Dôme (west of Lyon), the Dordogne in the south-west of France, and Brittany in the north.

Roadside checks have therefore increased and hundreds of drivers have had their licences suspended in recent months as a result.

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