Measures to Reduce the Number of Deaths on the Road

10 March 2015 Back

Measures to Reduce the Number of Deaths on the Road

Due to the rise in the number of deaths on the roads in France in 2014, the French government announced a series of measures that aim at reducing the death toll caused by automobile accidents. The League against Road Violence is also advocating “the introduction of a new law that forbids radar warning devices, reduces the speed limit on secondary road networks from 90 km/h to 80 km/h and the complete ban of mobile phone use while driving.”

Below are some of the suggested measures:

– Reducing speed limits.

– Reducing the legal amounts of alcohol while driving from 0.5 g of alcohol per 1 liter of blood to a lower level, and even setting the limit at 0 for some populations.

– Protecting pedestrian crossings (by increasing fines, preventing drivers from stopping immediately before crossings to prevent cases in which a car hides a pedestrian, etc.

– Installing start-up breathalyzers in the cars of people convicted with DUI in order to make sure that they are sober at start-up.

– Improving road control by using new breathalyzers for example.

– Integrating a speed control device in cars in order to set the car’s speed according to the authorized speed limit in the region.

– Banning all forms of mobile phone use in cars, including the no-hand kit and Bluetooth.

– Forcing motorcyclists to wear reflective yellow vests, because they are the most vulnerable to fatal car crashes.

– Installing black boxes in cars in order to record data at the moment of impact. This would most certainly change the behavior of people behind the wheel.

– Reinforcing crash barriers.

– Forcing elderly people to visit the doctor in order to make sure that they are in good condition to drive.