In August 2021, 267 fatalities occurred on the roads of mainland France and 19 overseas.
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Warning: the health crisis linked to Covid-19 has led the government to take exceptional measures to restrict trips and activities. Since March 2020, the evolution of road accidents reflects the hazards of the measures and the way French people have adapted their mobility according to the periods. A curfew has been in place in mainland France since the beginning of 2021 and teleworking is strongly recommended. In August 2021, there are no longer any restrictions on travel in France mainland. Road accident indicators have shown very atypical trends since March 2020, so comparisons are also made with the year 2019 and even with previous years. Specific insights are provided during the quarterly dashboards since the June 2020 dashboard. |
Mainland
267 people were killed on the roads of mainland France in August 2021 compared with 242 in August 2020, i.e. 25 more people killed (+10%). This result is nevertheless down compared to August 2019 (23 fewer people killed, i.e. -8%) and compared to the average for August 2015-2019 (-9%).
The number of bodily injury accidents recorded by the police stood at 4,350 in August 2021, close to last year's result (4,347 accidents in August 2020), but higher than the result for August 2019 (4,253 accidents, i.e. 97 more bodily injury accidents and an increase of +2%).
5,738 people were injured in August 2021, compared to 5,733 in August 2020, a similar result. The number of injuries is slightly up by +2% compared to August 2019, with 126 more injured.
Travel in August 2021 was slightly higher than in August 2020 (around +15% on average compared to August 2020 according to the Cerema traffic dataviz). The increase is particularly marked at weekends with an increase of around +30%, but also present during working days to a lesser extent.
Thus the results concerning accidents and injuries reflect the resumption of French mobility, with an accident rate of the same order as that of the prepandemic months of August, while road deaths are still lower.
Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (definitive until 2020), 2021 estimate based on data as of 08/09/2021
2021 road fatalities by mode of travel, age, and road network
Since the curfew was lifted on 20 June 2021, no measures restricting the mobility of French people have been in place in mainland France, as was the case in August 2020. Fatalities in August 2021 are however significantly higher than those recorded in August 2020, but remain significantly lower than those recorded in the pre-pandemic months of August.
Cyclist fatalities for August 2021, with 24 cyclists killed, are again higher than August 2020 (3 more killed) and August 2019 (4 more killed).
Pedestrian fatalities in August 2021 continue to decrease compared to the pre-crisis period (August 2019) and compared to August 2020. As a result, 26 pedestrians were killed in August 2021. 26 pedestrians were killed in August 2021, 3 fewer than in August 2019 and 7 fewer than in August 2020.
Motorcyclists fatalities, at 64, were only -7% lower than the average for the last five years. The rainy and stormy weather in August 2021 over many regions (with the notable exception of the South-East) has certainly limited motorbike use.
Car users fatalities were higher than in August 2020 but still lower than before the pandemic: 120 car users were killed in August 2021 compared to 112 in August 2020 (i.e. 8 more fatalities) and 144 in August 2019 (i.e. 24 fewer fatalities). Car fatalities in 2021 remained well below the motoring fatalities recorded in 2019 in every month (an average of around 30 fewer fatalities per month), with the exception of July this year.
46 young people aged 18-24 were killed on the roads in August 2021, similar to those recorded in August 2020 and August 2019. Deaths among young people appear to be returning to their previous levels. among young people appears to be returning to pre-crisis levels following the lifting of the curfew.
58 seniors aged 65 or over were killed on the roads in August 2021, a similar level to August 2020 and August 2019.
In urban areas, fatalities were similar to those in August 2020 and lower than in August 2019, with 2 and 14 fewer fatalities respectively. On rural roads, fatalities are higher than in August 2020 but lower than in August 2019, with 31 more and 11 fewer fatalities respectively.
Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (definitive until 2020), 2021 estimate based on data as of 08/09/2021
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 alternating restricted and authorized movements.
Car users usually account for half of all road deaths. Their fatalities over the last 12 months is estimated at 1,277 compared to 1,622 for the entire year of 2019, which reprensent a drop of -21% over a bit more than a year.
Pedestrians fatalities also drops sharply over this period: it is estimated that 360 pedestrians were killed in the last 12 months compared to 483 over the entire year of 2019, which means a decrease of -25%.
These very large decreases should be seen in relation to the large decrease in fatalities among seniors aged 65 or more, especially those aged 75 or more, whose travel was reduced during the confinements, but also the younger age groups, which were strongly affected by the confinements. or more, whose movements were reduced during the confinements, but also the younger age groups, strongly affected by the travel restrictions linked to the curfews. During these first 8 months of 2021, the still marked decrease in pedestrian and motorist fatalities compared to the pre-pandemic period is particularly evident outside built-up areas, while mortality in built-up areas has returned to equivalent or even higher than the pre-pandemic period.
The fatalities of powered two-wheeler users over the last 12 months are still lower than in 2019, but the decrease is not as strong as that observed in 2020 than that observed in 2020: -11% with 546 deaths in the last 12 months compared to 615 deaths in 2019. The fall in moped fatalities has been maintained since the beginning of 2021, -27% compared to 2019, with 98 killed in the last 12 months compared to 134 in 2019; a drop that affects all age groups.
Fatalities among young adults aged 18-24, at high risk of serious road accidents, have decreased by -16% in the last 12 months compared to 2019 (460 people killed compared to 549 in 2019), a trend that continues in this first half of 2021 with the curfew measures and the closure of some festive places.
Compared to other trends, cyclists fatalities have been increasing in recent months after a reduction at the beginning of the pandemic, and the result is on a sharp increase: 218 cyclists were killed in the last 12 months, +17% compared to 2019. Indeed,despite that the trips have been limited by the measures related to the health crisis, the French have shown a preference for using individual means of transport for short trips rather than public transport in towns, but also have developed leisure cycling in rural areas.
Finally, fatalities of heavy goods vehicle users is stable, as maintaining their activity remains essential for the daily life of the French people and companies. However, it remains at a level that has been reduced by almost half in 10 years.
Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series (definitive until 2020), 2021 estimate based on data as of 08/09/2021
Overseas
In August 2021, the road safety indicators for French overseas are higher than in August 2020 and in August 2019, except for the injured :
- 246 injury accidents compared to 240 accidents;
- 292 injuries compared to 336 injuries;
- 19 fatalities compared to 15 fatalities.
ns: non-significant change
Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : DOM + COM + New Caledonia
Definitive data until 2020, provisional data 2021 stopped on 08/09/2021