2022 Road Safety Annual Report

Publication on 4th October, 2023 of the Road Safety Annual Report 2022, available here in French.

In 2022, 3,550 people were killed on the roads in mainland France and its overseas territories. This figure is 1.5% higher than in 2019 and 10.3% higher than in 2021.

In mainland France, 3,267 people died within 30 days of their accident, including 488 pedestrians, 35 users of personal mobility devices (such as electric scooters), 245 cyclists, 718 users of powered two-wheelers and 1,565 car occupants. 59 children aged 13 or under died, 98 teenagers age 14-17, 549 young people age 18-24, 882 senior citizens age 65 or over.

In the French overseas counties, 172 people died. In the French Overseas Territories and New Caledonia, 111 people died.

The main indicators of  injury accidents recorded by the police forces (BAAC file, data for year N in its final version in May of year N+1, quasi-final version in January of year N+1) are certified by the Public Statistics Authority.

Road safety results in France (mainland and overseas) :

In 2022, 3,550 people were killed on the roads in mainland France and the French overseas territories. This figure is 1.5% higher than in 2019 and 10.3% higher than in 2021.

The upturn in travel in 2021 had been tempered by a period of confinement in April, curfews throughout the first half of the year, and several periods when teleworking was strongly recommended. As a result, road accidents in the first half of 2021 were often lower than those observed in 2019, taken as the benchmark year before the pandemic. This benchmark will be used to monitor the accident rate over the decade 2020-2030.

Road safety results - France mainland only

image-20231012151405-1
Source: ONISR final data up to 2022.
Data relating to injury accidents recorded by the police in mainland France

As travel in 2021 was still heavily impacted by the management of the pandemic, the road accident figures for 2022 are compared with those for 2019.

3,267 people died in 2022, slightly more than in 2019 (+0.7%).

According to the ONISR-Université Gustave Eiffel (Rhône Register) estimation method applied to injury accidents recorded by the police in 2022, 237,000 people were injured on the roads of mainland France in 2022, 16,000 of them seriously.

The number of estimated injured people (all severities) is lower than in 2019 (-0.9%); the drop is more marked for the seriously injured (-1.8%).

Accidents are multi-factorial: in France, the 2015 FLAM study on the factors leading to fatal accidents identified human factors as contributing to 92% of fatal accidents, infrastructure-related factors to 30%, vehicle-related factors to 20% and traffic conditions to 18%.

For each person presumed responsible for a fatal accident, the police can record up to 3 behavioural factors.

Excessive or inappropriate speed and alcohol remain the top two factors cited (by 28% and 23% of those presumed responsible respectively). Illegal drugs and inattention were cited by 13% of those deemed to be at fault, discomfort by 10% of those deemed to be at fault, and failure to give way by 9% of those presumed responsible. Overall, failure to comply with traffic rules other than speeding (refusing right of way, dangerous overtaking, wrong way, changing lanes, failure to respect safe distances) was cited by 22% of those presumed responsible in accidents that had already occurred.

Casualties 2022 by age group and gender in France mainland

Fatalities according to age

In 2022, the number of fatalities has increased, and reached a high level compared with previous years, for people age 35-44 (+40 fatalities compared with 2019) and those age 65-74 (+69 fatalities compared with 2019). As a result, the number of fatalities per million inhabitants in these age groups (52 fatalities per million inhabitants) has risen above the average (50 fatalities per million inhabitants).

On the other hand, the number of young adults killed (aged 18-24), while higher than in 2021 (the curfew in the first half of the year had slowed the number of people going out), is equivalent to that of 2019.

The number of 25-34 year-olds killed falls significantly (53 fewer than in 2019), as does the number of people age 75 or over (36 fewer than in 2019); these ages remain at higher risk, but to a lesser extent.

In 2022, 50 people were killed for every 1 million inhabitants in mainland France. The highest rates, indicating the age groups most at risk of dying on the roads, are :

  • 101 fatalities per million inhabitants for young people age 18-24 ;
  • 77 fatalities per million for senior citizens age 75 or over ;
  • 61 fatalities per million for the 25-34 age group;
  • 52 fatalities per million for the 35-44 and 65-74 age groups.

Serious injuries according to age

Around 16,000 people were seriously injured in 2022 according to the ONISR-Université Gustave Eiffel (Rhône Register) estimation method. The trend for 2019-2022 is a decrease of -1.8%. Ages at higher risk are not the same depending on whether we look at people who die on the road or those who are seriously injured.

As the elderly are particularly vulnerable physiologically, they will have difficulty surviving serious injuries. On the other hand, as teenagers now die far less in road accidents, they are the 2nd age group most at risk of serious injury.

image-20231012152615-1

Source: ONISR final data up to 2022.
Data relating to injury accidents recorded by the police in mainland France, and estimates based on ONISR-UGE modelling (Rhône Register).
Insee - Estimated population at 1 January, ONISR processing

In 2022, the number of serious injuries among 14-17 year-olds is estimated to be 5% higher than in 2019, further reinforcing the increased risk of serious injury observed among teenagers. The number of serious injuries in the 55-64 age group rose by 4%. On the other hand, the number of serious injuries fell the most in the 45-54 age group (-7%) and in the 75 and over age group (-8%), particularly in the 85 and over age group (-13%).

In 2019, the ratio of serious injuries to population was estimated at 250 serious injuries per million inhabitants. In 2020, it falls to an estimated 204 serious injuries per million inhabitants. In 2022, the indicator rises again to an estimated 243 serious injuries per million inhabitants.

The highest rates, indicating the age groups most at risk of being seriously injured while travelling, are estimated at :

  • 506 serious injuries per million inhabitants for young people age 18-24 ;
  • 488 serious injuries per million for teenagers age 14-17;
  • 338 serious injuries per million for 25-34 year-olds.

Serious casualties according to gender

78.1% of people killed in road accidents in mainland France are male.

Whatever the mode of travel, the proportion of male fatalities is much higher than the proportion of female fatalities; but it varies greatly depending on the mode of travel. Men account for 62% of pedestrian fatalities, 80% of those killed on public transport, 87% of those killed on bicycles, 94% of those killed on motorised two-wheelers, 73% of those killed in passenger vehicles, and 94% of those killed in utility vehicles or HGVs.

Fatalities by gender and mode of transport

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Source: ONISR  final data 2021
Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces in mainland France

75% of those seriously injured were male, a lower ratio than in 2020 and 2021 but higher than in 2019.

Casualties 2022 by travel mode in France mainland

Since the pandemic, the proportion of vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, users of personal mobility devices, powered two-wheeler users) among those killed or seriously injured has increased.

Since 2020, car occupants have accounted for less than half of those killed (48%).

The proportion of powered two-wheeler users remains stable: they represent 22% of those killed, 33% of those seriously injured and 39% of those injured who will still have after-effects one year after the accident, for less than 2% of motorised traffic.

The proportion of cyclists and users of personal mobility devices in the accident rate is increasing: these users account for 8% of deaths and 20% of serious injuries.

image-20231012154540-3
Source: ONISR final data up to 2022.
Data relating to injury accidents recorded by the police in mainland France, and estimates based on ONISR-UGE modelling (Rhône Register).

Casualties 2022 by road network in France mainland

Between 2019 and 2022, the number of fatalities has decreased by - 1% on roads outside built-up areas (10 fewer fatalities): a sharp fall in fatalities in cars (-131 fatalities), a slight increase in fatalities in PTW (+12 fatalities), and an increase in fatalities on foot (+30 fatalities), on bicycles (+41 fatalities) or in PMD (+8 fatalities),

Mortality is stable in built-up areas: fall in fatalities on PTWs (-37 fatalities) and on foot (-36 fatalities), increase in fatalities in cars (+48 fatalities), on bicycles (+18 fatalities) and on PMD (+16 fatalities),

The number of fatalities rose by 12% on motorways (+31 fatalities): the increase concerned pedestrians (58 pedestrians killed, i.e. +11 fatalities) and car occupants (+26 fatalities).

The estimated number of serious injuries is down on 2019, mainly in built-up areas, while the estimated number of serious injuries is up on roads outside built-up areas.

A partial increase of speed limits on roads outside built-upareasd to 90 km/h
The number of fatalities on the road network outside built-up areas (excluding motorways) in the 45 counties where the county council has opted to raise the speed limit to 90 km/h on all or part of the network is 1% higher than in 2019. Conversely, the number of fatalities on similar network on the remaining counties is 2% lower.

Road safety results overseas

In this section, the results for injury accidents, fatalities and injured people correspond to the data as recorded by the police in the BAAC file, as of 26 January 2023. The ONISR-Université Gustave Eiffel (Rhône Register) methodology for estimating injuries is not currently applied to the French overseas territories.

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Source: ONISR final data 2022
Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces in overseas territories (DOM, COM and NC)

283 people died on the roads in the French overseas territories in 2022, 172 in the overseas counties and 111 in the overseas communities or New Caledonia. This represents an increase of 11% (or 29 more fatalities) compared with 2019 (the reference year).

82% of those killed were men.

Deaths on powered two-wheelers increased in 2022, with 99 road users killed, i.e. just over a third of all road deaths in the French overseas territories. Failure to wear a helmet accounts for one in five powered two-wheeler fatalities.

Deaths in passenger cars account for more than a third of road deaths in the French overseas territories, with 101 deaths. Seatbelts are a major issue in the overseas territories, where three out of five people killed in cars, vans or HGVs were not wearing a seatbelt.

Pedestrian fatalities, with 49 pedestrians killed, fell in 2022 compared with 2019.

Road deaths among young people age 18-24 are on the increase: 58 fatalities in 2022 compared with 49 fatalities in 2019.

The number of deaths among 25-44 year-olds rose by 34% between 2019 and 2022: 115 fatalities in 2022 compared with 86 fatalities in 2019 (i.e. 29 more fatalities).

Fatalities among 45-64 year-olds decreased : 58 fatalities in 2022, i.e. 10 fewer than in 2019.

Fatalities among senior citizens age 65 and over are higher than in 2019 but lower than in 2021: 32 fatalities in 2022 (i.e. 4 more than in 2019 and 6 fewer than in 2021). Senior citizens are still much less represented than in mainland France.

Share of fatalities per travel mode in various overseas territories

image-20231012155519-5
Source: ONISR final data 2022
Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces in overseas territories (DOM, COM and NC)