This report demonstrates how a developed country, France, has managed to widely overcome one of the greatest scourges of modern times with much greater success than could have been foreseen. It is true that there are still far too many road crashes, but whereas close to 17,000 people were killed on France’s roads in 1972, the 2005 total was in the region of 5000. This drop is all the more remarkable insofar as the volume of traffic has more than tripled during the same period. In other words, for the same trip, the risk has been divided by 10, a result that those who witnessed the situation in the early 1970s, including the author of this report who happened to be at that time the first French National Delegate for Road Safety, would never have dared to imagine. The epidemic of road traffic crashes is gradually being overcome with progress expected to continue during the years ahead. Improvements in road safety have also been noted, to a greater or lesser degree, in other developed countries. Their experiences, along with those of France, put them in a strong position to assist less developed countries in achieving safer roads and to allow them to benefit from the lessons they have learned. The countries that stand to derive most benefit from France’s experience are those in which personal road vehicle ownership is just starting to rise, and lorries are coming into widespread use, both of which are essential for their future prosperity. These countries are in turn confronted by the terrible scourge of soaring road deaths. If they wish to limit it, they must follow the lessons that can be drawn from the experience of the countries that have preceded them on this dreadful path. According to the United Nations, the world road crash figures are already approaching the appalling total of a million deaths and tens of millions of injuries a year. These figures are by far higher than those for the deaths and injuries caused by the various armed conflicts around the world that daily make headline news, in contrast to the almost total silence on the subject of road tragedies. Undoubtedly the first lesson to be drawn from France’s experience regards the authorities’ responsibility. Depending on how effectively they act, the road crash figures can vary in a ratio from one to two at a given time. While every individual road user is responsible for their own behaviour behind the wheel, it is the authorities that are responsible for the road safety policy and so for the magnitude of the road death toll in their country. (Author/publisher)
Abstract