September 2021 Road Safety dashboard

Mainland

263 people were killed on the roads of mainland France in September 2021, compared to 266 in September 2020, i.e. 3 fewer people killed. This result is down sharply compared to September 2019 (47 fewer people killed, i.e., -15%) and compared to the average for September 2015-2019 (-13%).

The number of injury accidents recorded by police forces was 5,602 in September 2021, higher than last year's result (5,226 accidents, 376 more injury accidents than in September 2020) as well as the September 2019 result (5,127 accidents, 475 more injury accidents and an increase of +9%).

6,965 people were injured in September 2021, a result +9% higher than in September 2020 and +10% higher than in September 2019: there were 6,386 injuries in September 2020 and 6,320 injuries in September 2019.

Travel during September 2021 was slightly higher than in September 2020 (around +5% on average compared to September 2020 according to Cerema's traffic dataviz, both on weekdays and weekends). Thus, the results concerning accidents and injuries reflect the resumption of French mobility, with an accident rate of the same order as that of September before the pandemic, while road deaths remain significantly 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 08/10/2021}

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

Since the curfew was lifted on the June 20th, no measures restricting the mobility of French people are in place in mainland France, as was the case in September 2020. Fatalities in September 2021 are similar to those recorded in September 2020, but remains significantly lower than those recorded in the pre-pandemic months of September.

Pedestrians fatalities in September 2021 are similar to the pre-pandemic period (September 2019) but higher than in September 2020. Thus, 38 pedestrians were killed in September 2021, 2 fewer than in September 2019 and 6 more than in September 2020.

Cyclists fatalities in September 2021, with 21 cyclists killed, were significantly lower than September 2020 (16 fewer killed) and comparable to September 2019.

Motorcyclists fatalities, with 60 fatalities, are -15% lower than the average of the last 5 years. The month of September 2021 was nevertheless particularly hot, but the stormy episodes with heavy rainfall certainly limited motorcycle use in part.

Car users fatalities were slightly lower than in September 2020 and significantly lower than before the pandemic: 114 car users were killed in September 2021 compared with 119 in September 2020 (5 fewer killed) and 139 in September 2019 (25 fewer killed). Car users fatalities in 2021 remained well below the car users fatalities recorded in 2019 in every month (about 30 fewer fatalities on average per month), with the exception of last July.

20 children or teenagers were killed on the roads in September 2021, significantly more than in September 2020 or September 2019. Since the beginning of the year, children or teenagers fatalities are much higher than in 2020 or 2019 (+38% and +33% higher, respectively), but in the same range as previous years.

50 young people aged 18-24 were killed on the roads in September 2021, which is halfway between September 2020 and September 2019.

78 seniors citizens aged 65 or over were killed on the roads in September 2021, lower than in 2020 but comparable to the pre-pandemic months of September.

In urban areas, fatalities were significantly lower than in September 2020 and September 2019, with 14 and 29 fewer fatalities respectively. On rural roads, fatalities are slightly higher than in September 2020 but still much lower than in September 2019, with 7 more and 22 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 08/10/2021}

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 1,275 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 dropped sharply over this period: an estimated 367 pedestrians were killed in the last 12 months compared with 483 for the whole of 2019, which means a decrease of -24%.

These very strong declines are to be put in relation with the strong decrease of the fatalities among 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 the first 9 months of 2021, the still marked decrease in pedestrians and car users fatalities compared to the prepandemic period is expressed in urban areas and outside.

The fatalities of powered two-wheeler users over the last 12 months is still lower than in 2019, but the decrease is less important than the one observed in 2020: -11% with 546 fatalities in the last 12 months compared to 615 fatalities in 2019. The decrease in moped fatalities has been maintained since the beginning of 2021, -32% compared to 2019 with 91 moped fatalities in the last 12 months compared to 134 in 2019; a decrease that affects all age groups.

Fatalities among young adults aged 18-24, at high risk of serious road accidents, have decreased by -15% in the last 12 months compared to 2019 (465 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, cyclists fatalities over the last 12 months are higher than in 2019, but this increase tends to be reduced for this month of September: 201 cyclists were killed in the last 12 months, +7% 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  08/10/2021}

Overseas

In September 2021 the road safety indicators for french overseas are lower than in September 2020, higher than in September 2019 :

• 241 injury accidents compared to 240 accidents ;
• 280 injuries compared to 307 injuries ;
• 26 fatalities compared to 28 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 08/10/2021}