2,947 people died in accidents in mainland France in 2021, i.e. 9% less than in 2019

Road accidents killed 2,947 on the roads of mainland France in 2021, Road Safety announced on Monday January 31. This figure is down 9% from 2019, before the pandemic. As in 2020, the number of deaths remains below the symbolic bar of 3,000. But “road traffic seems to have returned to a level close to that of before the crisis in 2021”, according to Road Safety. For the first time in twenty years, the number of cyclists killed exceeded 200.

In its provisional report published on Monday, the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety (ONISR) underlines that the curfew introduced in 2021 and the closure of nightclubs in the first half of the year, among other things, “were able to limit travel, particularly festive at night”. Telework could also “influence exposure to risk”. Road fatalities are down in 2021 for motorists (1,411 killed) as well as for users of motorized two-wheelers (670 deaths).

On the other hand, the results are less positive on the side of cyclists. Their mortality on the roads has increased sharply with 226 people killed in 2021 (i.e. 39 more than in 2019, 48 more than in 2020). “This increase is more marked outside urban areas (+35% in 2021 compared to two years earlier) where the high speeds of motorized users make cyclists more vulnerable”, notes the ONISR. The mortality among electric scooter users is rising sharply, with 22 deaths recorded in 2021 compared to 10 in 2019 and seven in 2020.

In the overseas territories, 296 people died on the roads, an increase of 8% compared to 2019. In detail, 182 people were killed in the overseas departments, 92 in the overseas communities -sea and New Caledonia.