Since the departure of the interdepartmental delegate Emmanuel Barbe, his assistant, David Julliard, has been in charge of road safety. It will remain so for a few more days until one, or perhaps a delegate, is appointed, probably on Wednesday. While the assessment of the accident in 2019 will be detailed Tuesday, David Julliard deplores an increase in risky behavior since traffic resumed three weeks ago.
Road traffic has gradually resumed since May 11. Three weeks later, did you notice an increase in accidents?
DAVID JULLIARD. It was our fear and that is why we launched during the deconfinement a communication campaign on television and radio encouraging the French to virtue and caution on the road. Alas, our fears seemed well founded since the first figures coming from the field are quite alarming in terms of mortality. During the Ascension Bridge, for example, there were many fatal accidents and the number of deaths was higher than last year at the same time.
To what do you attribute this rising mortality?
It can be due to several factors. The weather plays an important role because we know that when the weather is very good, motorists go out more and drive faster. The good weather often results in an increase in serious accidents. But the observations made by the police on the ground, coupled with the speed violations noted by the radars, also leave us to think that the deconfinement resulted in an increase in risky behaviors.
What type?
Between May 11 and May 27, we noted 2,421 major speeding trips, exceeding 50 km / h above the speed limit. That's 321 more than in 2019 over the same period, an increase of almost 15%, which is huge. We have also been informed of an increase in red light crossings. This confirms a form of relaxation or disinhibition of driving behavior on the part of a minority of drivers.
Why such a relaxation?
During the confinement, the traffic was reduced by 75% but among those who continued to circulate, we had already noticed the tendency of some to drive excessively too fast because of the fluidity of the traffic. These irresponsible behaviors may have continued.
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A new extended and sunny weekend begins today. Are you worried that it will lead to more accidents?
Long weekends are often conducive to higher traffic and higher speeds. Some drivers who have not driven for two months have a desire for freedom. But this should not translate into a desire for speed and ultimately more accidents.
Why did you decide to harshly punish the use of the telephone while driving?
Because it is a constantly increasing plague. There are 400,000 offenses relating to the use of the telephone while driving each year. This is why the Prime Minister had decided in 2018 to adopt a measure recommended by the national road safety council: the possibility for the police to detain for seventy-two hours the license of a driver surprised in committing an offense (note: speeding, burnt red light, etc.) while he was holding his cell phone. This measure has now been in effect for a week. After retaining your license and withdrawing the respective point for each offense committed, the prefect of your department may decide to suspend it for up to six months, or even a year in the event of an accident.
Why this double sanction?
We adopt the same logic as for drinking and driving. In the 1970s, if you had an accident or committed an offense when you had drunk too much, being drunk was considered a mitigating factor. Which is obviously no longer the case. Well, for the laptop, it's the same. We assume that making a phone call, reading a text message, or using the Internet while driving is an aggravating factor if you pass a red light or if you forget a priority. In fact, so-called "distractors" are involved in more than 10% of bodily injuries. We estimate that 1,300 such offenses could have resulted in a license suspension last year.
You also announced the end of the requirement to have a breathalyzer in his car.
Yes, rather than this measure which was not widely respected, we preferred to ask stores selling take-away alcohol to offer their customers a breathalyzer for sale. This could result in supermarkets by the presence near shelves of alcohol shelves offering breathalyzers.
Next Tuesday should be released the detailed report of the road accident in 2019. What are the main trends?
We noted a drop in mortality outside the built-up area, but an upward trend in the city. 2019 notably resulted in an increase in the number of deaths of cyclists. This may be due to the fact that there are more and more in built-up areas, which is great news because we encourage the use of bikes. But I call on cyclists to be all the more careful, to wear a helmet, to clearly indicate their changes of direction and to be very careful with blind spots when they pass a heavy vehicle. And I would like to remind you that the Highway Code applies to everyone, including people on bikes.
The year 2019 was also marked by the sling against 80 km / h and the destruction of many radars. Where are we on these two files?
On 80 km / h, the rule continues to apply everywhere in France even if five departments have decided to return to 90 km / h on their roads and others have plans to do so. As for radars, maintenance operations were slightly slowed down during confinement but a very substantial proportion continues to flash. The degradations remain worrying but there are less than a few months ago. And we are gradually continuing to deploy the fleet of turret radars (Editor's note: installed high up on a pylon) which replace on the ground the cabins that had been degraded or destroyed.