Seasonality
Road accidents are marked by seasonality, i.e. a potentially significant increase or decrease in mortality depending on the time of day, week or year.
Bad weather conditions, while increasing the risk of accidents, generally discourage users from travelling or encourage them to be more cautious. Conversely, good weather conditions encourage travel and make users less cautious in their behaviour, particularly with regard to speed.
For all road users, there is a noticeable increase in mortality during the summer months (June-July-August), as travel is more frequent during these three months. However, the development of motorways, the ban on heavy goods vehicles and other complementary measures have helped to reduce road deaths during the summer.
The number of heavy motorcycle users killed falls sharply in winter and then rises gradually with the arrival of warmer weather, as the use of these vehicles is linked to the weather. This marked seasonality is not observed for light motorcycles or mopeds, which are more often restricted to commuting between home and work. In 2024, 81% of heavy motorcycle users killed were killed between March and October.
The days of the week are also uneven in terms of fatalities. On average, 9 people were killed every day in 2024. This figure, similar to that for 2023, varies according to the day of the week: an average of 8 people were killed from Monday to Thursday; an average of 10 people were killed from Friday to Sunday, when travel is more focused on leisure activities. Both during the week and at weekends, the 4pm to 6pm slot saw the highest number of fatalities.
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