Overtaking vehicles that are too slow without fear of crossing the 80 km/h limit will soon be possible in Ardèche. From this Thursday, September 1, 2022, the speed will be limited to 90 km/h on the Ardèche departments. 172 sections deemed accident-prone remain limited to 70 km/h. Only national 102 from Teil to Haute-Loire retains its 80 km/h signs.
In 2018, the 80 km/h limit was decreed by the then Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe. Like nearly half of the French departments, the Ardèche is backtracking on 3500 kilometers of roads. For Olivier Amrane, the President of the Department of Ardèche, who recalls that 85% of Ardéchois must use a vehicle to work, “we must let our territories breathe and stop despising rurality.”
No more speed-related accidents according to the Department of Ardèche
In 2019, a year after the switch to 80km / h, the department says it has seen a very sharp increase in the number of road victims. There were 20 deaths on the roads in Ardèche in 2020 compared to 20 in 2017 before the introduction of 80km/h. The accidents recorded show that the taking of alcohol and narcotics has exploded since 2018 with increases of 14% before 2018 and 40% after 2018.
Redevelop dangerous axes
To support this return to 90 km/h, the Department has started road works. On departmental 107 in Saint-Thomé, bends have been rectified and the road modified to improve user safety. In Château-Rouge, in the municipality of Saint-Georges-les-Bains, traffic lights will soon be installed. The work to loop the Charmes-sur-Rhône bridge also provides for safe crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.
The cost for the change of about 260 panelscorresponds to an expenditure of the order of 60,000 euros, which represents 0.014% of the departmental budget.