Road safety reformer Jacques Chirac dies

The news that former French president Jacques Chirac has died, aged 86, should be of note for those in the road safety sector. His political legacy is well known. Chirac was prime minister of France from 1974-76 and again from 1986-88, mayor of Paris from 1977-95 and finally president of France from 1995-2007. But his political reputation ended under a cloud following his suspended sentence on corruption charges. Perhaps less well widely known, however, is that Chirac had a tremendously beneficial eff
September 27, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The news that former French president Jacques Chirac has died, aged 86, should be of note for those in the road safety sector.

His political legacy is well known. Chirac was prime minister of France from 1974-76 and again from 1986-88, mayor of Paris from 1977-95 and finally president of France from 1995-2007. But his political reputation ended under a cloud following his suspended sentence on corruption charges.

Perhaps less well widely known, however, is that Chirac had a tremendously beneficial effect on road safety in France. Chirac was injured in a road crash in 1978 and that inspired him to institute a tough line on enforcement of laws against drink-driving and speeding in particular.

French law had previously been lax on these, with the result that the country’s annual road casualty rate was shockingly high. Chirac’s tough line on road safety started in 2002, resulting in the French police cracking down hard on offences. The result was that France’s annual road casualty rate fell dramatically – to around 5,000 deaths in 2003, down from 14,000 a year during the 1970s - and has remained much lower ever since.

It is worth noting that that there are many French people today living healthy lives, who perhaps would not have been but for Chirac’s actions. Perhaps this was not the legacy Chirac set out to achieve when he entered politics, but it is one that deserves much credit.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Cut freight deliveries – improve Southampton’s air quality
    November 23, 2018
    Taking the pressure off cities’ road networks can have a beneficial effect on the environment. David Crawford looks at a new economic model which seeks to quantify the societal effect of freight traffic in Southampton, one of the UK’s five most polluted cities Cuts of 60% or more in volumes of freight deliveries are being predicted - along with badly-needed improvements in air quality - from a load consolidation scheme currently being introduced in the UK port city of Southampton. The forecasts are based o
    Read More
  • Something out of nothing
    February 27, 2012
    The old line has it that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Chances are, for instance, that that 'top-quality' set of carving knives on offer at a knock-down price in the back pages of the Sunday papers or the 'only-for-a-selected-few' email offer from some self-proclaimed expert on stocks and shares simply aren't the unmissable opportunities they purport to be.
    Read More
  • New Mersey crossing ends Halton’s congestion misery
    December 5, 2017
    Plagued by intolerable congestion but denied government funding for its solution, tiny Halton Borough Council relentlessly pursued its vision and achieved what many believed impossible. Halton may be a small local authority in north west England, but it had a big traffic problem. However, as the road, or more particularly the bridge, involved was not deemed a strategic route, central government would not commission or even fund a solution - a problem that many other local authorities will recognise.
    Read More
  • Editor's comment: 'Time to press the re-set button'
    July 13, 2020
    Holistic solutions are required on air quality and inequality - and the ITS industry is involved
    Read More

Highlighted Content