Figures to be released soon will show a reduction of about 11% in 2013 over the 3650 deaths in the previous year - this is a historic low.
In 2001 Jacques Chirac said that the 8000+ deaths that year was a cause of national shame and set about reducing the toll. Automatic speed cameras have reduced average speed limits from over 90kph to under 80kph, but the EU has set a target of under 2000 deaths by 2020. Unless new measures are introduced this will not be achieved. One solution proposed is to limit all 90kph roads to 80kph (50mph), which it is thought would save around 450 lives per year and to remove or put crash barriers around all vertical obstacles alongside the single carriageway roads (which is where 2/3rds of the fatalities occur).
Val says: I hope this will not mean cutting down even more plane trees - perhaps this is where the crash barriers will go.
Actually Malc did that post for me and when I said "I am not sure about the plane tree comment - do I put plane trees before life?" Malc said "but they are one of the things that make France, France, along with the food and gun toting peasants!" (gun toting peasants, harks back to an earlier post)
Why not give your opinion? although barriers round the trees must solve the dilemma.
comments to taglines82@gmail.com
