First the bad news. Despite the Prince’s Government reiterating its commitment to enforce respect for the highway code and to fight against all forms of road incivility and nuisance, as well as a Ministerial Order regulating how long vehicles can remain immobilised during certain events, the chaotic scene at the Fairmont Hairpin Turn on Saturday night was every resident’s worst nightmare. This video blogger, whose clip has gone viral, predicts it’s the end of Top Marques Monaco.
Now for some good news. France’s Road Safety office announced on Monday, April 23, that the number of deaths on the nation’s roads fell by 13.5 percent over the last year, and by 6.1 percent in the first three months of 2018, compared to the same period last year.
A total of 231 people lost their lives in road accidents in March, 36 fewer than in 2017. The number of those injured also fell, by 17.5 percent to 5,074, the office said. French road accidents reached a historic low in 2013, with 3,427 killed over the 12 months, before three consecutive years in which the number of fatalities increased sharply.
The figures come amid an ongoing controversy over the planned reduction in the speed limit on 400,000 kilometres of secondary roads from 90 to 80 km/h, due to go into force on July 1. Meanwhile, President Macron announced on April 13 that revenue from traffic fines will be assigned to hospitals that treat road accident victims.