October 2021 Road Safety dashboard

Mainland

294 people were killed on the roads of mainland France in October 2021 compared to 203 in October 2020, i.e. 91 more people killed. This result is up compared to October 2019 (37 more people killed, i.e. +14%) but is slightly down compared to the average for October 2015-2019 (-5%).

The number of injury accidents recorded by police forces was 5,717 in October 2021, higher than last year's result (4,455 accidents, that is to say 1,262 more injury accidents than October 2020) as well as the October 2019 result (5,135 accidents, that is to say 582 more injury accidents and an increase of +11%).

7,149 people were injured in October 2021, a result +31% higher than October 2020 and +10% higher than October 2019: there were 5,468 injured in October 2020 and 6,493 injured in October 2019.

Travel during October 2021 was slightly higher than in October 2020 (around +5% on average compared to October 2020 according to Cerema's traffic dataviz, both on weekdays and weekends). Thus, the results concerning accidents, injured and fatalities reflect the resumption of French mobility, with an accident rate of the same order as that of the pre-pandemic months of October.

^{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 08/11/2021}

2021 road fatalities by mode of travel, age, and road network

In October 2021, no measures restricting the mobility of French people were in place in mainland France, whereas in October 2020 a curfew had been progressively implemented in the country from October 17. Fatalities in October 2021 are thus much higher than those recorded in October 2020, but are similar to those recorded in the pre-pandemic months of October.
 
Pedestrian fatalities in October 2021 are significantly higher than those recorded in October 2020 but also October 2019. Thus, 53 pedestrians were killed in October 2021, 22 more than in October 2019 and 17 more than in October 2020. However, it would be only slightly higher than the pedestrian fatalities observed in October over the 5-year pre-pandemic average.

Cyclist fatalities in October 2021, with 27 cyclists killed, are significantly higher than in October 2020 (19 more killed) and also higher than in October 2019 (11 more killed).
 
Motorcyclist fatalities, with 48 fatalities, are back to the pre-pandemic level observed in October.

Car user fatalities are higher than in October 2020 and lower than before the pandemic: 131 car users were killed in October 2021 compared to 107 in October 2020 (24 more fatalities) and 139 in October 2019 (8 fewer fatalities). Car user fatalities in 2021 remained well below the car user fatalities recorded in 2019 in every month (about 30 fewer fatalities on average per month), with the exception of last July.

10 children or teenagers were killed on the roads in October 2021, slightly less than in October 2020 or October 2019. Since the beginning of the year, child or teenager fatalities are much higher than in 2020 or 2019 (+29% and +25% higher, respectively), but in the same range as previous years.

49 young people aged 18-24 were killed on the roads in October 2021, 12 more than in October 2020 and 6 more than in October 2019.

96 seniors citizens aged 65 or over were killed on the roads in October 2021, a number of fatalities that is significantly higher than in October 2020 (37 more fatalities) and also higher than in October before the pandemic.

In urban areas, fatalities are significantly higher than in October 2020 and October 2019, with 23 and 17 more fatalities respectively.
On rural roads, fatalities are significantly higher than October 2020, with 69 more fatalities, and slightly higher than October 2019 with 14 more fatalities.

^{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 08/11/2021}

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 restrictions and authorized movements.

Car users usually account for half of all road deaths. Their fatalities over the last 12 months is estimated at 1,303 fatalities compared to 1,622 for the entire year of 2019, which represent a decrease of -20% over a bit more more than a year.
Pedestrian fatalities also dropped sharply over this period: an estimated 383 pedestrians were killed in the last 12 months compared to 483 for the entire year of 2019, which means a drop of -21%.

These very strong declines are to be put in relation with the strong decrease in the fatalities of seniors aged 65 years or more, especially those aged 75 years or more, who have severely limited their movements during lockdowns, but also the younger age groups, strongly affected by the trips restrictions related to curfews. During these first 10 months of 2021, the still marked decrease in pedestrian and car user fatalities compared to the pre-pandemic period is expressed in urban areas and outside.

The fatalities of powered two-wheeler over the last 12 months is still lower than in 2019, but the decrease is less important than the one observed in 2020. Motorcyclist fatalities are reduced by only -8% with 564 fatalities in the last 12 months compared to 614 fatalities in 2019. The sharp decline in moped rider fatalities has continued since the beginning of 2021, -28% compared to 2019 with 97 moped rider fatalities in the 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 -13% in the last 12 months compared to 2019 (477 people killed compared to 549 in 2019), a trend that continues for the first half of 2021 with the curfew measures and the closure of some festive places.

Compared to other trends, cyclist fatalities over the last 12 months are higher than in 2019 and are on the rise again for this month of October 2021 after a decrease observed for September 2021: 224 cyclists were killed over the last 12 months, i.e. +20% 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  08/11/2021}

Overseas

In October 2021, the road safety indicators for french overseas are lower than in October 2020, except for fatalities, and similar to those in October 2019:

•    243 injury accidents compared to 258 accidents;
•    307 injuries compared to 346 injuries;
•    24 fatalities compared to 21 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 08/11/2021}