No hurry to change back to 90kph limit on French roads
The controversial 80kph speed limit imposed last year on many departmental roads is likely to remain until at least the end of the year, despite government promises to change it in May.
The question of the speed limit for two-lane roads without a central barrier was raised at nearly every meeting in rural areas attended by President Macron in his attempt to calm the gilets jaunes protests.
In mid-May, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said departments could decide which roads can return to 90kph.
Since then, the change in law to allow this has been blocked.
It is included in the loi d’orientation des mobilités, which also covers electric scooters, rules for airports and railway strategy.
The senate has sent parts of the law back to MPs for further debate.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Transport told Connexion that no timeframe could be given, due to the MPs’ heavy workload.
A government-sponsored committee of road safety experts has published guidelines to be applied by local authorities when raising speed limits to 90kph.
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But Patrick Septiers, president of Seine-et-Marne department, said the recommendations would make it impossible to raise limits.
As an example, the guidelines say 90kph limits must be continuous for at least 10km and with no intersections.
There are also restrictions on the sharpness of turns, which local authorities say are more applicable to motorways.
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Departments have also been told they must set up research groups on road accidents if they change limits without being given extra funds to do so.
Local authorities point to the situation which will exist if departmental roads have 90kph limits while often-wider national roads still have 80kph limits.
Forty-nine departments including the Dordogne, the Nord and Alpes-Maritimes, say they want a return to 90kph.
Three departments refuse to change again, including the Rhône, which claims it spent €24million on new signs.
Chantal Perrichon, president of the Ligue contre la violence routière, says the move back is a “mistake”. She said: “The danger is not the type of road. Fatal accidents happen on nice roads.
“Whenever you raise speed limits, the death rate rises.”
Mrs Perrichon said the previous measure saved 206 lives and studies show 350-400 lives can be saved like this every year.
But in August, 290 people died on the road – 17.9% more than in August 2018, which has again fuelled the debate on the efficiency of the measure.
