What is the meaning behind these sombre roadside signs in France?

Have you ever seen a silhouette-shaped sign planted at the side of the road when driving in France?

The sombre signs are relatively rare, with most sources suggesting they were primarily installed between 2014 and 2015 by departmental councils or prefectures. Their purpose is to encourage road safety and serve as a marker of where someone has lost their life due to dangerous driving. 

Some of the signs still stand today, as do other traditional memorials such as white crosses and bouquets of flowers. These symbols continue to remind drivers of the risks associated with irresponsible conduct on roads. 

Dangerous driving remains a serious issue in France, with several French departments having an increased police presence and more frequent checks on their roads. 

In July a total of 338 deaths were recorded on the mainland French road network, over 60 more than in the same period in 2024, according to data from the Observatoire national interministériel de la sécurité routière (ONISR).

Designed by highschoolers

In the Haute-Loire department (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), several black silhouettes can be seen along roads such as the N88. The sign is designed to show a body shaped as a red heart, pierced by a road in the form of an arrow (see below). 

In 2001, a competition invited secondary school students to design the sign, with the winning proposal coming from a pupil in Le Puy-en-Velay, reported French media Le Progrès.

A vocational school was then involved in the sign’s construction before the first series were installed in June, 2002 to represent road deaths between 1997 and 2001. 

The silhouettes were removed at the end of the year as the local prefecture wished to avoid the signs becoming trivialised by drivers.

It was then decided to reinstall them the following summer, this time adding the age of the person who had died in each particular location. This detail has since been removed in favour of the initial design.

Silhouette variations 

Different versions of the silhouette signs can be seen in certain areas across France. 

A total of 30 black silhouettes were installed in Eure (Normandy) at the beginning of 2018, with each sign featuring the number 33 to represent the number of road deaths in the department during the previous year, reported French driving school Ornikar. 

Signs can also be seen along the N4 road near the town of Ibigny in the Grand Est region. An article on the road safety section of the government website described this area as being “particularly accident-prone” and said the signs were put up “to encourage drivers to adapt their conduct on the road.”

Using back-dated Google Street View images, it is noted that two body-shaped signs were initially installed in May, 2014 featuring the text: Tu téléphones, t'es mort (You make a phone call, you’re dead). In the most recent image (2023) only one of these signs remains. 

Further along this road another two black silhouettes were installed in 2014 depicting a young child and a person in a wheelchair. The first sign read “Maman outai ?” (Mummy, where are you?), and the second “J'ai bu, j'ai perdu” (I drank, I lost). The latter played on the phrase J'ai joué, j'ai perdu, tying the idea of drink driving to taking a gamble. 

These signs were removed the following year and replaced with black body-shaped signs without any text.

The 2014 Google Street View is included below. 

This particular road safety communication campaign sought to reinforce existing measures such as the presence of a speed radar. 

Similar initiatives were also used in other towns around France. A 2015 article published by the commune of Étaples (Hauts-de-France) said: “A black silhouette depicting a little girl has appeared on the roadside at the entrances to the towns of Lefaux and Fromessent.

“This unusual sign makes drivers think and alerts them to the dangers of the road. On these two roads, the speed limit is often poorly observed. The sign now reminds of the consequences of dangerous driving.

“This initiative by the municipality will be followed by others near schools to reinforce this awareness campaign.”

It is unclear whether these signs still exist today. 

Reports suggest that some drivers find the signs distressing, particularly families of the victims, which can sometimes lead to their removal.

Have you seen one of these signs in France? If so, where and do you think they are an effective way of encouraging road safety? Please let us know via feedback@connexionfrance.com