Just A Warning

[KathyF]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

I'm sure I read recently that the fatality rate on French roads is about double the British one although both countries have roughly the same number of drivers (have I got my facts right?)

And as excess speed has been proved to be a killer, it's no wonder the police in France are cracking down on speeding as I do believe there is some sort of initiative to improve the appalling statistics. [/quote]

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder whether the very high casualty rate may in part be due to the fact that so many French drive small, older cars, which don't have all the modern protective features like airbags and crumple zones. I'm definitely no expert on cars, so what do those with more technical knowledge think?

[Alex H]

[quote user="KathyF"]

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder whether the very high casualty rate may in part be due to the fact that so many French drive small, older cars, which don't have all the modern protective features like airbags and crumple zones. I'm definitely no expert on cars, so what do those with more technical knowledge think?

[/quote]

It seems motorcycles are a large part of the statistics.

According to the French Road Federation (URF) (http://www.urf.asso.fr/index.php?id=1039)

The number of fatalities for all different types of road user is constantly diminishing (pedestrians and vehicle occupants),

with the sole exception of motorcyclists, who in 2005 accounted for 16.5% of victims (and 19.5% of motor vehicle victims, excluding pedestrians and cyclists), a proportion that is far higher than the share of motorcycles in the total of motor vehicles on French roads (approximately 3%).

Not quite up to date, but you get the idea.

[Callie]

[quote user="KathyF"]Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder whether the very high casualty rate may in part be due to the fact that so many French drive small, older cars, which don't have all the modern protective features like airbags and crumple zones. I'm definitely no expert on cars, so what do those with more technical knowledge think?[/quote]

No, Kathy, I don't think it is older cars.  The CT every 2 years should sort out the old bangers, even if it not as thorough as it could be.  When I see the news/read about accidents, it isn't the old banger or old small vehicle that is generally involved.  France is reluctant to give out statistics, so you won't find the percentage or number of under 25s killed on the roads every year. 

Speed and alcohol have got to be the chief offenders - and how many people have you seen on their mobile phones - I've even seen people sending SMSs ! ! ! ! !  The small cars involved are the whizzy ones like the Puegeot 305 etc which are fitted with airbags.  But even an airbag won't save the occupants in all cases....