Road deaths down 6.5% last month
Number of people killed in car accidents falls below 400 in July - traditionally one of the deadliest months.
THE number of people killed on French roads fell below 400 last month for the first July since records began.
Figures compiled by the Observatoire interministériel de la sécurité routière show 389 road deaths last month, down 6.5% on the 416 recorded the same time last year.
The number of people injured in road accidents last month was 7,911 – down a tenth on last July’s figure of 8,784. Only 417 of those injured needed to be taken to hospital.
July is traditionally one of the deadliest months on the French road network as families take holidays to coincide with the Fête Nationale on July 14.
Some 13,000 police officers are gendarmes patrolled the main holiday routes in a bid to keep traffic moving, control road rage and discourage speeding.
The increased police presence came after June's figures revealed 408 road deaths – up a third on the same month last year.
Ecology and energy minister Jean-Louis Borloo, who is responsible for road safety, said: "The preventative work we did on the main holiday routes after the June figures came out has paid off. The fear of getting caught by the police is working."
