Fatal accidents represent a small part of the problems on this type of road, contrary to what one might believe.
Every year, thousands of French people lose their lives on the roads of France. There were 3,170 deaths in 2023 according to figures provided by the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory. A figure down 3% compared to 2022, as is the number of injured (-1.9%), estimated at 232,000. This remains high, however, far from the “0 road deaths” objective. set for 2050 by the European Union. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, using the telephone and dangerous behavior remain the main causes of traffic accidents. But not all roads are equally accident-prone. Some are more often the scene of very serious accidents, while others are much less so.
As in all other countries, it is on the motorway network that you can drive the fastest in France. The speed limit is set at 130 kilometers/hour, 110 on certain sections, particularly when traffic is reduced to two lanes. With several tens of thousands of cars racing at high speed on the motorways every day – not to mention the heavy traffic observed during the summer – one could easily believe that the number of fatal accidents is much higher on the well-known A6 motorways. , A10, A1, A7, A4 etc.
And yet not at all. With 273 deaths recorded in 2023, motorway deaths represent only 8.6% of people killed in traffic accidents last year. It is in fact on the roads where motorists can drive the fastest that the risk of fatal accidents is lowest. Conversely, roads outside urban areas, mainly departmental and national roads, are those which cause the most victims, with 59% of deaths recorded (1881). Finally, in urban areas, where speed is more limited, but where traffic is densest, 1,016 people suffered a fatal accident, or 32% of the total deaths recorded on French roads in 2023.
In France, the network of motorway lanes exceeds 12,000 kilometers, more than three-quarters of which have tolls. Around 30,000 vehicles use the motorways on average every day. Traffic peaks occur during school holidays, and particularly during the summer period. Several hundred thousand motorists parade on French highways every Saturday in July and August to leave or return from vacation. However, despite this incessant flow of vehicles and the possibility of pressing the accelerator until reaching 130 km/h, the motorways are indeed the safest roads in the country, those on which there are the fewest deaths. every year.