Road death toll falls below 4,000

FOR THE first time, the number of road deaths in France has fallen below the 4,000 barrier, the ninth year in a row the toll has fallen.

Since the early 1970s – when nearly 17,000 were dying each year – the death toll has fallen steadily after the introduction of front seat-belts and motorcycle crash helmets in 1973.

The provisional 2010 toll of 3,994 means that “about 300 lives have been saved in one year”, said interior minister Brice Hortefeux as he revealed the figures.

Down 6.5 per cent on last year, the figures are supported by an even greater fall in the number of those injured: down 13.1 per cent to 79,056. Motorcycle casualties are also down 18 per cent, from 1,144 to 941.

Despite falling below the psychologically important 4,000 barrier, the figures are well short of President Sarkozy’s aim of 3,000 road deaths by the end of his first term.

The figures have taken five years to fall from the 5,000 mark, although the toll has halved from the 8,200 deaths 10 years ago. Mr Hortefeux hailed the figures as a vindication of the government’s road safety policies.

However, road safety campaigner Chantal Perrichon, of the Ligue Contre la Violence Routière, said that the fall was largely down to the heavy snowfalls. “Two-wheel riders did not go out, and that has led to the spectacular fall in casualties.”

Elsewhere, Prévention Routière said that the figures still showed a death toll of 47 deaths per million inhabitants, well short of the figures for Sweden, Britain and Holland, which had 40 deaths per million.

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