Road safety in France: From national policy to a local territorial approach

Abstract

Road safety in France has a history that explains the latest developments that can be observed today. This example is rich in lessons that can be used by other countries, including the Maghreb. Road safety is first of all a national concern. This means it is a top-down process. In 1972, a road safety public policy has been decided leading to a significant reduction in the number of victims. Policy today is mainly focused on the control of driver behavior, explaining the transfer of the jurisdiction on this policy, from Department in charge of Transportation to the Department of the Interior. The local institutional levels have now an ever more important role in prevention strategies due to the decentralization and transfer of national road networks to local communities. In the countryside the safety issue remains very high but the capacity for action remains low because of road network length and the increase in traffic generated by suburbanization. In urban areas, the organizational safety — as it unfolds for work safety — is too often overlooked when it comes to preventing road accidents. In particular, the design of a real strategy focused locally on the steering action by safety, is not developed in France. It is as if the slogan of sustainability pays no attention to road safety.