In February 2022, 212 fatalities occurred on the roads of mainland France and 26 overseas.
| 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. In February 2022, teleworking is strongly recommended in metropolitan France and there are no travel restrictions. 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
212 people were killed on the roads in mainland France in February 2022, compared with 176 in February 2021, i.e. 36 more people killed. This result is down compared to February 2019 (42 fewer people killed, i.e. -17%) as well as compared to the average for February 2015-2019 (-10%).
The number of injury accidents recorded by law enforcement was 3,694 in February 2022, higher than last year's result (3,139 accidents, or 555 more injury accidents than in February 2021) but lower than the February 2019 result (4,082 accidents, or 388 fewer injury accidents and a -10% decrease).
4,550 people were injured in February 2022, a result +18% higher than February 2021 and -9% lower than February 2019: there were 3,843 injuries in February 2021 and 4,982 injuries in February 2019.
Travel during February 2022 was higher than in February 2021 (by an average of +10% compared to February 2021, according to the Cerema traffic dataviz). Thus the results concerning road accidents reflect the recovery of French mobility compared to 2021, with a lower accident rate than in February before the pandemic.
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 08/03/2022
2022 road fatalities by transport mode, age, and road network
In February 2022, no measures restricting the mobility of French people were in place in metropolitan France, whereas in February 2021 a curfew was in place. Fatalities in February 2022 is thus much higher than that recorded in February 2021, but remains similar to the average of the last 5 years before the pandemic.
Pedestrian fatalities in February 2022 are slightly higher than those in February 2021 and well below those in February 2019. Thus, 29 pedestrians were killed in February 2022, 5 more than in February 2021 and 19 fewer than in February 2019.
Cyclist fatalities for February 2022, with 14 cyclists killed, were higher than those recorded in February 2021 and of the same magnitude as those February 2019. This fatality is higher than the February months of the last 10 years.
Motorcyclist fatalities, with 27 killed, are slightly lower than February 2021 and similar to pre-pandemic levels.
Car user fatalities are higher than in February 2021 and lower than in February 2019: 125 car users were killed in February 2022 compared to 96 in February 2021 (29 more killed) and 132 in February 2019 (7 fewer killed). Motor vehicle fatalities in February 2022 is slightly lower than the average for February in the 5 pre-pandemic years.
4 children or teens were killed on the roadways in February 2022, which is significantly lower than February 2021 and February 2019.
38 young people aged 18-24 were killed on the roads in February 2022, 4 more than in February 2021 and 10 fewer than in February 2019; this remains close to the average for February in the 5 pre-pandemic years.
57 senior citizens aged 65 or more died on the roads in February 2022, higher than in February 2021 (9 more fatalities) and close to the average for February in the 5 pre-pandemic years.
In urban areas, fatalities are higher than in February 2021, with 11 more fatalities, and much lower than in February 2019.
In rural areas, fatalities are higher than in February 2021, with 19 more fatalities, and much lower than in February 2019.
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 08/03/2022
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 1,497 fatalities compared to 1,622 for the entire year of 2019, which represent a decrease of -8% over just over two years.
Pedestrian fatalities also fell sharply over this period: an estimated 450 pedestrians were killed in the last 12 months, compared with 483 for the entire year of 2019, which means a drop of -7%.
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 563 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, -31% compared to 2019 with 93 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 -6% in the last 12 months compared to 2019 (518 people killed compared to 549 in 2019), a trend that continues for the first half of 2021 with curfew measures and the closure of some festive places and that is now tending to reduce.
Compared to other trends, cyclist fatalities over the last 12 months are higher than in 2019: 234 cyclists were killed in the last 12 months, +25% 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, the number of fatalities among heavy goods vehicle users rose sharply at the end of the year. It is up by +42% 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 08/03/2022
Evolution of people injured over the last 12 months according to their transport mode
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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 injuries 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 16%, while the number of injured pedestrians and motorcyclists has decreased by -14% and -15%.
In rural areas, the biggest increase in injuries over the last 12 months compared to 2019 is for cyclists, with +20%. The trend in motorised two-wheelers injuries 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 08/03/2022
Overseas
In February 2022, the road safety indicators for french overseas are higher than in February 2021 and February 2019:
- 208 injury accidents compared to 210 injury accidents ;
- 276 injured compared 268 injured ;
- 26 fatalities compared to 9 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 08/03/2022