France introduces a speed limit of 80 km/h
From July 1, on local roads in France, the maximum speed will be 80 km/h, instead of 90 km/h as before. As RFI notes, the measure will affect about 400,000 kilometers of two-way roads without a median barrier.
In total, France has about one million kilometers of highways. But more than half of fatal accidents occur on such "small" roads.
This is the first speed limit in France (outside major cities) since 1974. The maximum speed, however, will not be reduced on wide roads with at least two lanes in each direction.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe insists that the speed limit can reduce road deaths. The prime minister admits that this measure is unpopular. But, according to him, its goal is not to "annoy" people.
"Unpopularity can be tolerated" if it can save up to 400 lives per year, the head of government continues. He emphasizes that in France, between 3,500 and 3,600 people die in road accidents every year, and 75,000 are injured.
The prime minister also recalls that a few years ago an experiment was conducted and the maximum speed was reduced by 10 km/h on the Paris ring road. Since then, the number of accidents has decreased by 18%, and traffic has improved.
In 2013, France recorded a historically low number of road deaths (3,427 people), but in the following three years the situation worsened.
74% of French people, according to a poll, consider this measure useless. Associations of motorists and motorcyclists regularly hold protests. Opponents of the measure believe that roads will not become safer, but the treasury will be replenished from fines, and drivers' lives will become more difficult. They urge the government to pay attention to the "real causes of accidents" – alcohol and the use of mobile phones while driving. They also criticize the government for "authoritarianism" and for not listening to "people who get behind the wheel every day," but making decisions "out of touch with life" from the capital.
In the association "40 Million Motorists," they cite the example of Denmark, where authorities, on the contrary, increased the maximum speed on small roads from 80 to 90 km/h and recorded a decrease in fatal accidents. The association believes that 90 km/h seems "fairer and more reasonable" than 80 km/h, and therefore drivers are more willing to comply with the speed limit. And with a maximum of 80 km/h, there will be more violators, which will make roads even more dangerous.