In April 2022, 262 fatalities occurred on the roads of mainland France and 14 overseas.
Warning: the health crisis linked to Covid-19 has led the government to take exceptional measures to restrict trips and activities, the evolution of road accidents since April 2020 reflects the impact of the measures and the way in which French people have adapted their mobility according to the periods. Since 2 February 2022, teleworking is no longer required 3 to 4 days a week in mainland France but is once again recommended. There are no restrictions on travel. The road accident indicators show very atypical trends since April 2020, depending on the period; comparisons are therefore also made with 2019 as a reference year, and even with previous years. |
Mainland
262 people were killed on the roads in mainland France in April 2022, compared with 203 in April 2021, i.e. 59 more people killed. This result is up compared to April 2019 (24 more people killed, i.e. +11%) as well as compared to the average for April 2015-2019.
The number of injury accidents recorded by law enforcement was 4,102 in April 2022, higher than last year's result (3,619 accidents, or 483 more injury accidents than in April 2021) but lower than the April 2019 result (4,347 accidents, or 245 fewer injury accidents and a -6% decrease).
5,068 people were injured in April 2022, a result +16% higher than April 2021 and -7% lower than April 2019: there were 4,360 injured in April 2021 and 5,427 injured in April 2019.
Travel during April 2022 was higher than in April 2021 (by an average of +25% compared to April 2021, according to the Cerema traffic dataviz). Thus the results concerning road accidents reflect the strong recovery of French mobility compared to 2021, but while the number of injuries and accidents is significantly lower than in April before the pandemic, the number of people killed is of the same order.
Data source : ONISR - Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (final until 2020, near final 2021), 2022 estimate based on data as of 09/05/2022
2022 road fatalities by transport mode, age, and road network
In April 2022, no measures restricting the mobility of French people were in place in metropolitan France, while on 18 April 2021 a third lockdown was introduced in some french counties. Fatalities in April 2022 is thus much higher than that recorded in March 2021, but lower than the average of the last 5 years before the pandemic.
Pedestrian fatalities in April 2022 are higher than those in April 2021 and those in April 2019. Thus, 32 pedestrians were killed in April 2022, 10 more than in April 2021 and 3 more than in April 2019.
Cyclist fatalities for April 2022, with 24 cyclists killed, were higher than those recorded in April 2021 and lower than those in April 2019. This fatality is higher than the April months of the last 10 years.
Motorcyclist fatalities, with 44 killed, are similare than April 2021 and lower to pre-pandemic levels.
Car user fatalities are higher than in March 2021 and than in April 2019: 131 car users were killed in April 2022 compared to 95 in April 2021 and in April 2019 (36 more killed). Motor vehicle fatalities in April 2022 is slightly higher than the average for April in the 5 pre-pandemic years.
11 children or teens were killed on the roadways in April 2022, which is lower than April 2021 and higher then April 2019.
45 young people aged 18-24 were killed on the roads in April 2022, 12 more than in April 2021 and 1 more than in April 2019; this remains is lower than the average for April in the 5 pre-pandemic years.
63 senior citizens aged 65 or more died on the roads in April 2022, higher than in April 2021 (15 more fatalities) and higher than the average for April in the 5 pre-pandemic years.
In urban areas, fatalities are higher than in April 2021, with 14 more fatalities, and similare than in April 2019.
In rural areas, fatalities are much higher than in April 2021, with 39 more fatalities, and higher than in April 2019, with 24 more fatalities.
ns: non-significant change
Data source : ONISR - Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (final until 2020, near final 2021), 2022 estimate based on data as of 09/05/2022
Development of the number of users fatalities cumulated on a rolling 12 months
The health crisis has deeply affected trips since March 2020, for all users, but to varying degrees depending on the alternation of restrictions and authorized movements. Even if the pandemic is still active, trips and accident rates are returning to near pre-pandemic levels, sometimes with changes linked to new habits.
Car users usually account for half of the road deaths. Their fatalities over the last 12 months is estimated at 1,550 fatalities compared to 1,622 for the entire year of 2019, which represent a decrease of -4% over just over two years.
Pedestrian fatalities also fell sharply over this period: an estimated 472 pedestrians were killed in the last 12 months, compared with 483 for the entire year of 2019, which means a drop of -2%.
The fatalities of powered two-wheeler over the past 12 months are still lower than in 2019, but the decline is less important than the one observed in 2020. Motorcyclist fatalities are reduced by -8% with 568 fatalities in the last 12 months compared to 615 fatalities in 2019. The sharp decline in moped rider fatalities has continued over these last 12 months, -26% compared to 2019 with 99 moped rider fatalities these last 12 months compared to 134 in 2019; a decline that affects all age groups.
Fatalities among young adults aged 18-24, at high risk of serious road accidents, have decreased by -2 % in the last 12 months compared to 2019 (537 people killed compared to 549 in 2019).
Compared to other trends, cyclist fatalities over the last 12 months are higher than in 2019: 240 cyclists were killed in the last 12 months, +28% compared to 2019. Indeed, the French show a preference for using individual means of transport for short trips in towns, but also practice leisure cycling in rural areas.
Finally, the number of fatalities among heavy goods vehicle users rose sharply in late 2021 and early 2022. It is up by +61% compared to 2019 but remains similar to the average of the years 2015-2019.
Data source : ONISR - Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (final until 2020, near-final 2021), 2022 estimate based on data as of 09/05/2022
Evolution of people injured over the last 12 months according to their transport mode
Warning: The number of people injured in road traffic accidents as recorded by the police forces is under-represented. Injured people, particularly those on e-scooters, bicycles or motorbikes, contact the emergency services directly or go to health facilities on their own, or even return home, without the police forces being aware of this. The volumes of injuries recorded by the police forces are therefore very volatile over a given month or since the beginning of the year, and it was therefore decided to display the trends for the current month and the cumulative total since January, compared with 2021 and 2019. Only the rolling 12-months totals are displayed in relative terms compared to 2019, which is taken as the reference year for the decade. |
In urban areas, the evolution of PMDs motorized injured is on an upward slope compared to 2019, as this mode of travel has grown. In the last 12 months, compared to 2019, the number of injured cyclists has increased by 14%, while the number of injured pedestrians and motorcyclists has decreased by -12% and -16%.
In rural areas, the biggest increase in injured over the last 12 months compared to 2019 is for cyclists, with +19%. The trend in motorised twowheelers injured is slightly up compared to 2019.
ns: non-significant change
Data source : ONISR - Data on injury accidents recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (final data until 2020, near final 2021), 2022 provisional data as of 09/05/2022
Overseas
In April 2022, the accident indicators for french overseas are higher than in April 2021 and lower than in April 2019, except for fatalities in April 2022 which are lower than those of 2021 and 2019:
- 231 injury accidents compared to 228 injury accidents ;
- 323 injured compared to 276 injured ;
- 14 fatalities compared to 19 fatalities.
ns: non-significant change
Data source : ONISR - Data on injury accidents recorded by the police forces - Geographic scope: DOM + COM + New Caledonia
Final data until 2020, near final data 2021, provisional data 2022 stopped on 09/05/2022