Deaths in road accidents in France 2018, according to the state of the driver

In 2018, almost 3,300 people died on the French roads. Most of these people found death in an accident involving a driver under the influence of alcohol. Drunk driving is one of the main causes of fatal car accidents, not only in France but also in Europe.

The influence of speed and alcohol on car accidents

In 2016, traffic accidents were the fifth cause of death in the European Union. In France, road accidents have been considered a societal issue for decades. The French Government has implemented road safety measures in order to limit high-speed and fight against driving under influence. However, these two reasons keep being the main killers on the road, particularly among young drivers. Between 2013 and 2015, more than 45 percent of road fatalities caused by speed concerned drivers aged 18 to 24 years. Over the same time period, alcohol was the second main cause of fatal car accidents which involved young drivers.

The decrease of road accidents?

On a general level, the number of road fatalities in France seems to be decreasing. On the tolled motorway network, for example, the death rate per billion kilometers went from 4.8 in 2000 down to 1.8 in 2015. In terms of number of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, France is not especially well-ranked in Europe. However, it is one of the only European nations which have seen a decrease in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities from 2010 to 2016, while for the same period the decrease in road deaths reached nearly 13 percent.