According to Kantar’s 2023 Parc Auto survey, the household motorisation rate is estimated at 84.9 %. This rate has decreased by one percentage point compared with 2022, while the proportion of multi-vehicle households has remained stable. Motorisation is higher among households with higher incomes. In 2023, the rate reached 93 % in households with an annual income above 38 000 €, compared with 46 % in households with an annual income below 7 500 €. The rate of multi-motorisation is higher in rural areas than in urban areas: multi-vehicle ownership accounts for 32 % of households in urban areas with more than 100 000 inhabitants, compared with 58 % in rural areas.
In 2024, 2 252 people died in crashes involving a passenger vehicle (71 % of road traffic fatalities), including 1 518 passenger vehicle occupants (48 % of road traffic fatalities – a stable proportion since 2020, whereas it stood at 52 % before the pandemic). It is estimated that 100 000 car occupants were injured in road traffic crashes, including 4 800 seriously injured (MAIS3+).
In addition to the 1 518 car occupants killed, comprising 1 178 drivers and 340 passengers, 734 other road users were killed in crashes involving a passenger vehicle. Among them, 35 % (257 users) were motorcyclists and 36 % (267 users) were pedestrians. These non-car user fatalities occurred 48 % on roads outside urban areas (64 % for moped riders, 67 % for motorcyclists and 51 % for cyclists) and 44 % in urban areas (67 % of pedestrian fatalities).
In 2024, 276 car occupants killed were not wearing a seat belt, representing 22 % of car occupant fatalities for which seat belt use is known (reported in 86 % of cases). This proportion is higher for passengers (27 %) than for drivers (19 %). Single-vehicle crashes account for half of all car occupant fatalities (790 people). This share rises to 69 % in urban areas. One quarter of car occupants died in head-on collisions (402 people), 85 % of which occurred outside urban areas. Last year, 316 car occupants killed were aged 18-24, although this age group represents only 13 % of other fatalities and 8 % of the population. People aged 65 and over account for 22 % of car occupant fatalities (469 people), a proportion equal to their share of the population. Finally, men represent 71 % of car occupant fatalities, compared with 91 % among other road users killed.
Published on 19/05/2019
