Don’t Move to France ... until you’ve done your homework.

Traffic Accidents:

Driving along France’s free flowing Auto Routes and Route Nationales can be an invigorating experience for Brits used to endless traffic jams and road works, however it is a sobering thought that you are more than twice as likely to be killed in a road accident in France than in the UK.

On UK roads the death rate is 58 per 1 million of population, in France the latest available figure is 144 per 1 million of population! Only Portugal and Greece, with bad roads and older vehicles have worse accident rates. Each of those black silhouettes of people of roadsides represents someone killed there in recent times – along some rural roads (where 70% of all accidents happen) you can scarcely drive half a mile without coming across another shadowy figure.

The French government pledged to lower the death rate in 1997, yet it has remained static at some 8,000 deaths a year, in spite of a low drink drive level of 50 mg. Despite an extensive radar campaign and publicity, the French still hold Europe's record for drink-driving. Along with speed limits and stop signs, they also disobey seat belt laws more than any other Europeans.

All this is in spite of toughened regulations introduced in 2003, introducing the loss of your licence for up to six months and a £900 fine for exceeding a 30mph speed limit (50kph). A second offence carries a three month prison sentence, £2,000 fine and five years' loss of licence. Part of the problem is the failure of some authorities to enforce the regulations. The Paris Appeal Court recently annulled the conviction of a driver clocked at 130mph in an 80mph limit, accepting his argument that high speed did not in itself expose others to risk or injury!

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