The nature of accidents varies from one region to another. The specific characteristics of physical accidents can be explained by differences in mobility between rural and urban areas (greater use of cars in the countryside than in cities, more bicycles in cities, etc.), weather conditions that vary from one region to another, different behaviours depending on the location, etc.
In this chapter, you will find analyses of accident rates and the specific characteristics of each territory: rural areas, urban and sub-urban areas, and overseas territories. A common indicator for comparing accident rates by territory (comparisons between départements - counties -, regions or even countries) is the number of deaths per capita. Variations in mortality per million inhabitants between regions are smaller than between counties, as the number of people killed per region is higher than per counties and therefore less subject to statistical fluctuations or extreme values.
Between 2020 and 2024, road mortality per capita in mainland France is 46. By county, the rate varies from 13 in Hauts-de-Seine to 101 in Haute-Marne. The lowest rates are observed in the counties of Ile-de-France (except Seine-et-Marne).
The annual average number of people killed per county between 2020 and 2024 ranges from 5 in the Territoire de Belfort to 101 in the Bouches-du-Rhône. In mainland France, the annual average per county is 31 and the median is 29. In 64 counties, the number of deaths is between 15 and 40. Among the extreme values, 11 counties have a mortality rate of less than 15 people killed (counties with low population density). At the other end of the spectrum, 21 counties recorded more than 40 people killed; these are often counties with a strong urban component.
The nature and length of the road network vary greatly from one county to another. The length varies from less than 3,000 km for Paris, the inner suburbs (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne) and the Territoire de Belfort, to more than 20,000 km for Gironde, Puy-de-Dôme and Côtes-d'Armor. While the proportions of motorways and national roads vary little (between 0% and 3% each), the same cannot be said for the proportions of county roads and municipal roads, particularly in relation to the presence of large urban areas:
- county roads (excluding Paris): 14% (in Seine-Saint-Denis) to 64% (in Aube);
- municipal roads (excluding Paris, where only 1 km out of 1,626 is not on a municipal road): 34% (in Aube) to 84% (in Seine-Saint-Denis).
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