Road fatalities stagnate in May 2017

In May 2017, the number of road fatalities was the same as in May 2016, with 294 people killed, according to the latest figures by the ONISR (French inter-ministerial road safety observatory). However, while this figure seems relatively encouraging, it needs to be viewed within context. First, the number of road traffic injuries is increasing: 5052 in May 2017, that is 85 more than the previous year. This finding is similar for the number of road victims (sum of fatalities and injuries, whether hospitalised or not), totalling 6770, that is 203 more than in May 2016 (up 3.1%). The number of hospitalisations (2486) was up sharply by 4.7%, that is 112 more people hospitalised than in the previous year.

A few days before the eve of the summer holidays, the French Road Safety Authority is “calling on road users to be more responsible and more careful, and police will be paying particular attention on our roads to protect users and impose fines for inappropriate behaviour”. Because “on the road, sticking to the rules saves lives”.

More information:

• Sécurité routière – Mai 2017: La mortalité est en baisse sur les 12 derniers mois, mais la situation est fragile (French road safety authority – May 2017: fatalities down over the last 12 months but the situation remains fragile) (in French only)
• Ouest-France – Sécurité routière: le nombre de morts sur les routes stagne en mai (Road safety: the number of road fatalities unchanged in May) (in French only)