Road accident deaths in France shot up by practically 4% final year, hitting a total of close to 3,400. And the French government is determined to prevent them going up again in 2015.
To that finish, it has introduced a raft of measures created to quit folks placing lives in danger by drink driving and making use of their mobile phones at the wheel – anything you will require to be aware of if you are driving on French roads this year.
As nicely as lowering the legal alcohol limit for young drivers, the new regime bans the use of hands-cost-free kits utilized by drivers to make calls at the wheel and lowers the age at which teenagers can begin driving beneath supervision.
France – a hazardous place to drive
The number of folks who died on French roads in 2014 rose 3.7% year-on-year to a depressingly high 3,388.
Examine that to the 1,713 men and women killed on UK roads in 2013 (the most current year for which statistics are obtainable). France has a slightly larger population (66 million) than the UK (64 million) but it is a bigger landmass with far more roads, so you’d feel the quantity of fatalities would be on a par.
But possibly the most telling statistic is that UK fatalities in 2013 really fell by 2.3%, and the long term trend in the UK is downwards. Apart from 2011, deaths have fallen in quantity every single year since 2004.
So why this evident French malaise.
Drinking dilemma
Possibly it plays to national stereotypes, but it turns out that alcohol-associated accidents came out as the number one particular killer in France.
And as an individual who has spent years living in France, that does not come as a excellent surprise to me. French people have a rather different attitude to us Brits when it comes to drink-driving.
Although getting behind the wheel when you are tipsy right here is quickly becoming a deep social taboo, it is broadly accepted in France – or at least it is in the rural places where I have spent most of my time.
That’s why I welcome efforts to crack down on drink driving. And I reckon the most efficient way to avoid alcohol-related road deaths, at least in rural places, would be to invest in better public transport or find a way of lowering the usually astronomical price of a taxi ride.
How the government is tackling the issue
In February, Bernard Cazeneuve, the French Interior Minister, announced particulars of no fewer than 26 measures made to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities by 2020:
- Zero tolerance on alcohol for young drivers
The legal alcohol limit is being slashed from .5mg/ml to .2mg/ml for young drivers, meaning even one half pint – the ubiquitous French “demi” – will push them more than.
- Breathalysers in late-evening off licences
Shops promoting alcohol amongst 2am and 7am should supply buyers breathalysers or face penalties and prospective closure.
- Earphones and headsets no longer allowed
The use of all types of earphones, headsets and hands-free of charge kits “that limit the focus of drivers” is being banned for these in the driving seat.
- Far more “double-face” speed cameras
Although the number of speed cameras in France – 4,150 – is not set to rise, there will be much more “double-faced” speed cameras that can snare drivers travelling in each directions.
- Tinted windows to be banned
Only tinted windscreens are forbidden at the moment, but Cazeneuve intends to extend this ban to cover all automobile windows in the coming years.
- Much more space about pedestrian crossings
Only mopeds and motorbikes will be allowed to park inside 5 metres of pedestrian crossings.
- Younger drivers on the roads
French teenagers as young as 15 will be capable to drive below supervision below the new guidelines.
To France?
If you are driving to France this year, make confident you verify what’s necessary and expected of you just before you set off.
Pay certain interest to setting your headlights appropriately and carrying the correct equipment in case of an accident. You must also carry an approved breathalyzer.
Full details can be located in this 2-part article.
Driving in France? Regardez bien!
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder