Road deaths on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais spark alarm over safety crisis
Popular seaside route described as ‘an open-air cemetery’
Several deaths have been recorded this year along the stretch of road
christophe.parmentier/Shutterstock
A radical solution to prevent speeding on Nice’s iconic Promenade des Anglais is being implemented after several recent deaths on the road.
A motorbike collided with a pedal bike on the evening of July 7, killing both the cyclist and a passenger who was riding on the back of the motorcycle.
The motorbike driver ended up in a coma.
It brought the annual death toll on the road to four, with at least 19 people being killed since the start of 2020.
Tests for drugs and alcohol in the driver’s bloodstream came back negative, but it is believed he was driving significantly faster than road rules allow.
The motorcyclist is not the only person to have been caught breaking rules – across the city, traffic offences increased by 30% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the year prior.
Now, anyone caught speeding along the road at very high speeds will be automatically taken into custody (placement automatique en garde à vue), local authorities announced yesterday.
“The instruction given to police officers is that any driver travelling at over 100 km/h will be systematically taken into custody for endangering the lives of others,” said public prosecutor Damien Martinelli.
While the road’s speed limit is 50 km/h, this is regularly broken by drivers and is often the cause of serious accidents.
Authorities began placing portable speed cameras along the street – used by 175,000 per day – in May, and are hoping to upgrade these to permanent static units soon.
Road has become ‘open-air cemetery’
Several plans have been suggested to reduce accidents on the road.
Recent initiatives and projects near the western stretch of the Promenade, including expanding tram and bus services and a new major exit, are cited by the city’s officials as steps in the right direction to making the road safer.
“Even though we carry out several checks every month – at least one by the municipal police every week – we still see speeding offences exceeding 100 km/h,” said deputy mayor Anthony Borré.
“We can't get inside people's heads. We can repeat messages, put up visuals, use ‘nudges’ and enforcement measures, but we still can't prevent all tragedies,” he added.
Others want to emulate the success of nearby Cagnes-sur-Mer, which greatly reduced accidents and mortalities on its beach-straddling road by adding more pedestrian crossings and red lights, as well as installing permanent speed radars.
Additional suggestions include reducing the number of lanes at night-time (the most frequent period for accidents) to funnel drivers into fewer lanes and reduce the temptation to speed along empty roads.
“For five years, we have been drawing the town hall's attention to the extremely high accident rate on the Promenade des Anglais,” said the vice president of the city’s Promenade Committee, Kirkor Ajderhanyan.
The committee aims to reduce accidents and maintain the safety of cyclists, pedestrians, and beach-goers.
“We are asking for a working group to be set up to sit down together and think about sustainable solutions, but we have not received any response,” Mr Ajderhanyan added.
“[We want to] finally move forward together to make the Promenade des Anglais safe, as it has become an open-air cemetery.”
