March 2023 Road Safety dashboard

In March 2023, 195 people died on the roads of mainland France, and 17 overseas.

France mainland

It is estimated that 195 people died in March 2023 on the roads of mainland France, compared with 226 in March 2022, i.e. a drop of 14%. In particular, there was a drop in the number of cyclists fatalities (-10 killed), car users (-11%) and young people (-51%). The number of pedestrians and powered two-wheelers users fatalities was stable.

1,031 people were seriously injured, i.e. -15% compared to March 2022 (according to the estimation method developed by the ONISR on the basis of work by the Gustave Eiffel University). The fall in the number of seriously injured in March is broken down by mode of travel.

The trend over the first quarter is down compared to the first quarter of 2022: the number of fatalities is 9% lower and the number of seriously injured is 6% lower.

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* March 2023 compared with March 2022
** Cumulative 3 months from January 2023 to March 2023 compared with cumulative 3 months from January 2022 to March 2022
Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series for fatalities (definitives until 2021, quasi-definitives 2022), ONISR-UGE estimations for seriously injured, 2023 estimate based on data as of 2023/04/06

Evolution 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.

Since the pandemic, car users have accounted for just under half of all road deaths. Their fatalities over the last 12 months are estimated at 1,524 fatalities compared to 1,622 for the entire year 2019.

Pedestrian fatalities, which had been falling since March 2020, are now similar to pre-pandemic levels: an estimated 470 pedestrians have died in the last 12 months compared to 483 in the entire year 2019.

The fatalities of powered two-wheeler over the past 12 months are still lower than in 2019 but are approaching the same level with 717 fatalities in the last 12 months compared to 549 fatalities in 2019.

Fatalities among young adults aged 18-24, at high risk of serious road accidents, have now exceeded for these past 12 months those recorded in 2019, with 534 fatalities compared to 549 fatalities over 2019.

Fatalities among seniors citizens aged 65 or over stands at 851 people killed in the last 12 months, a level similar to that observed between between 2015 and 2019.

Cycling fatalities over the last 12 months are well above the level of 2019: 236 cyclists have died in the last 12 months, i.e. +26% compared to 2019. Indeed, the French are showing an interest in using individual modes of transport for short journeys in towns and cities, but they also use bicycles for leisure activities in rural areas.

Fatalities in motorized PMDs continue to rise, with 33 people killed in the last 12 months.

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Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series for fatalities (definitives until 2021, quasi-definitives 2022), 2023 estimate based on data as of 2023/04/06

Evolution of the number of users seriously injured 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.

Powered two-wheeler represent more than a third of those seriously injured, with an estimated 5,200 seriously injured over the last 12 months, compared with 5,700 for the whole of 2019.

Car users represent a little less than a third of those seriously injured, over the last 12 months they are estimated to be 4,800 seriously injured compared to 5,200 for the whole of 2019.

The number of seriously injured 18-24 year olds, at high risk of severe road crashes, has fallen over the last 12 months, with 2,700 seriously injured compared to 2,800 over 2019.

The number of seriously injured people aged 65 or over would be 2,500 seriously injured in the last 12 months, compared to 2,600 for the whole of 2019.

The number of cyclists seriously injured over the last 12 months is well above the figure for 2019: 2,600 cyclists are thought to have been seriously injured over the last 12 months, i.e. +10% compared to 2019. In fact, the French are showing an interest in using individual modes of transport for short journeys in towns and cities, but they also use bicycles for leisure activities in rural areas.

The number of seriously injured pedestrians has remained stable over the past year and is lower than in 2019: an estimated 2,000 pedestrians have been seriously injured over the past 12 months, compared to 2,300 for the whole of 2019.

The number of seriously injured PMDs motorized users continues to rise, with 600 seriously injured in the last 12 months.

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Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
ONISR-UGE estimations for seriously injured, 2023 estimate based on data as of 2023/04/06

Focus according to users for the month of March 2023 and for the last 3 months compared to the same period last year:

The recent trend (last 3 months) is a decrease of -9% for fatalities and -6% for seriously injured.
The number of serious victims is decreasing for all modes of transport except for powered two-wheelers users (in slight increase).
With regard to age, the decrease in the number of serious victims is mainly concentrated among seniors.
The number of serious victims fell on rural areas and in urban areas, but increased significantly on motorways.

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** Cumulative 3 months from January 2023 to March 2023 compared with cumulative 3 months from January 2022 to March 2022
Data source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : France mainland
Labelled series for fatalities (definitives until 2021, quasi-definitives 2022), ONISR-UGE estimations for seriously injured, 2023 estimate based on data as of 2023/04/06

Overseas

In March 2023, , the police recorded 268 injury accidents for french overseas, 8% more than in 2022. In these accidents, there were:

  • 17 fatalities (11 in the DROMs and 6 in the other territories), i.e. -35% compared to 2022;
  • 340 injured (291 in the DROMs and 49 in the other territories), i.e. +8% compared to 2022.

 

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* March 2023 compared with March 2022
** Cumulative 3 months from January 2023 to March 2023 compared with cumulative 3 months from January 2022 to March 2022
Source : ONISR - Data on accidents involving injuries recorded by police forces - Geographical area : DOM, COM-NC
Definitive data until 2021, quasi-definitive 2022, provisional BAAC data stopped on 2023/04/06 for the year 2023

The decrease in the number of fatalities and the increase in the number of injured recorded by the police this February 2023 also corresponds to the trend observed over the last three months, of a decrease in fatalities and an increase in injured, both in the overseas counties and regions (-39% of fatalities and +2% of injured recorded) and in the other overseas territories (-16% of fatalities and +12% of injured recorded).