Speed Limits reduced in France

1 August 2018

As reported by ETSC Two-lane roads with no separating guard rail in France have had their default speed limit reduced from 90 to 80 km/h since 1 July, fulfilling a commitment made by the Prime Minister in January.

The change applies on 40% of the French road network; some 400,000 km of roads are affected by the lower limit.
The government says that 350-400 deaths a year could be prevented by the measure. 55% of French road deaths occur on two-lane roads with no separating guard rail.

A new campaign has been launched to communicate the safety benefits of the new speed limit, including a film that shows how the 13m stopping distance gained can prevent a serious collision.

By lowering the speed limits to 80, France is following the example of countries with the best safety records in Europe. Sweden has a limit of  70km/h for equivalent roads and has 25 deaths per million inhabitants.  Norway (20), Switzerland (27), Denmark (32) and the Netherlands (36) all set the limit at 80km/h.  Road deaths in France currently stand at 53 deaths per million inhabitants.
In the neighbouring Belgian region of Flanders, the speed limit on rural roads was reduced from 90km/h to 70km/h in January 2017.

In Britain the limit is 60 MPH. or 96 KPH for cars and light vans and %)MPH for trucks.

Most unprotected road users are killed if hit by a car travelling 50 km/h . Speed has been identified as a key risk factor in road traffic injuries, influencing both the risk of a road crash as well as the severity of the resulting injuries. In high-income countries, speed contributes to about 30% of deaths on the road, while in some low and middle income countries, speed is estimated to be the main contributory factor in about half of all road crashes.