In 1960 the Ministry of Public Works in France began a general traffic census on all national roads. These censuses are carried out every five years and make it possible to estimate accurately the trips made by different classes of vehicle. On this occasion it was decided that a special analysis should be made of data on injury accidents occurring on national roads, so that a detailed investigation should be carried out of accident and fatality rates on these roads in relation to various factored. The computers have now finished working on the findings but there has not been enough time in which to complete a full investigation. Never the less, this report contains the results of a preliminary rapid analysis of the documents available. In 1960 the Ministry also carried out a thorough study of about 1.000 serious accidents, following a method laid down in 1959. The 1960 survey was conducted in co-operation with the Police and Gendarmerie, the Dept. of Mines which carries out vehicle inspection, and the National Road Safety Board. The full analysis of the data obtained is still being carried out; the preliminary results are given below.
Abstract