France Recording 30% Hike In

Cycling And Scooter Deaths

                                     The reference year is 2019 due to heavy drop in traffic flow during the pandemic. PHOTO: GENDARMERIE.FR2 FEB - A 30% surge in cyclists and scooter users mortality was registered in France, the National Road Safety Body announced based on conclusive 2022 statistics.

A total of 3,260 people died on the roads of mainland France in 2022.

Trend

The level is stable (+0.5%) compared to 2019, the last reference year before the Covid-19 pandemic. In the overseas territories, 281 people died on the roads, a figure up 11% compared to 2019 (+27 killed).

Optimism

Road mortality is down in 2022 for motorists compared to 2019 with 1,563 killed (-59) as are users of motorized two-wheelers with 715 deaths (-34), according to figures from the National Interministerial Observatory of Road Safety (ONISR). “Less than 50% of road deaths are car occupants,” notes Florence Guillaume, the interministerial delegate for road safety.

Worries

“Unfortunately, and this goes hand in hand with the development of soft mobility, there is a worrying increase in the mortality of cyclists and users of motorized personal transport devices” such as scooters, deplores Florence Guillaume. Indeed, 244 cyclists were killed on the roads, a figure up 30% compared to 2019 (+ 57 killed). Similarly, 34 scooter riders lost their lives, compared to 10 in 2019, with some 600 seriously injured.