Road deaths in 2014 were up by 120 over 2013, the first time in 12 years that there has been an increase. Bernard Cazeneuve, interior minister, announced a series of measures to be introduced gradually in an effort to halt this.
-Using a telephone at the wheel is already banned, but using headphones of any type will also be forbidden - including Bluetooth headpieces.
-The level of alcohol tolerated in inexperienced drivers (less than 2 years) will be halved.
-Parking near pedestrian crossings will be outlawed as one third of pedestrians killed are on such passages.
-Local authorities are to be encouraged to remove or protect obstacles which pose a danger - maybe even plane trees?
-Tinted windows are to be phased out as they prevent the police identifying drivers.
-Speed cameras are to be replaced with "front and back" directional versions.
The full list of 26 measures to be implemented over the next few years includes better collection of statistics to understand better the causes of accidents as well as concrete measures and can be consulted on the Ministry's web site.
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