And one more This Monday, August 1, 6,940 kilometers of departmental roads in the Puy-de-Dôme return to 90 km/h. The department joins the refractory range at 80km/h. A measure desired by former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe four years ago to reduce mortality on small roads, but a decision that angered part of the French.
According to the League for the Defense of Drivers, compared to 80 km/h, 45 departments have, or are about to back down, giving up applying the measure on certain roads. This represents about 14% of the departmental network (52,000 kilometers).
7 departments have given up completely at 80 km/h
Nothing illegal since the LOM law (mobility orientation law), approved at the end of December 2019, authorizes the departments to raise the speed limit to 90 km/h in sections past 80 km/h on July 1, 2018.
Specifically, seven departments have waived 80 km/h on all roads, namely Puy-de-Dôme, Aveyron, Allier, Creuse, Corrèze, Cantal and Ardèche.
The other 38 returned to 90 km/h only on part of their road network. You can check the details on the following map.
Road Safety lists a little less. According to its latest count based on the census of prefectural decrees, on July 29, 41 departments had returned to 90 km/h in part of their network, compared to 54 departments that remained at 80 km/h. Therefore, the latter remain in the majority.
An effective measure of mortality
A ParisianOlivier Amrane (LR), the new president of the Ardèche, assures that “in any case, the 80km/h was not respected”.
Still, slowing down to 80 km/h seems to have served its main purpose. According to figures from the Interministerial Delegation for Road Safety, cited by Le Parisien, in 2021 the number of deaths on the network outside the urban area of the 38 departments that had opted for the speed increase returned to the level recorded in 2019. While that mortality in the network outside the urban area in the departments that have remained at 80 km/h is 16.3% lower than in 2019.
Source: BFM TV
