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

  • Kapsch TrafficCom: 'The city is not made for cars'
    October 22, 2018
    Traffic can be a really big challenge. When you’re stuck, you’re stuck. Everything comes to a standstill. But Alexander Lewald describes how existing infrastructures can be used more efficiently and how demand can be managed. A few figures to start with: in Los Angeles, the average driver spends 102 hours a year in traffic – that’s more than four days. This figure is 91 hours in Moscow and New York, 74 in London, 69 in Paris, 51 hours in Munich and still 40 hours in Vienna. Traffic is what causes
    Read More
  • Average speed cameras reduce injury collisions, says report
    October 31, 2016
    Research carried out into average speed camera (ASC) effectiveness by the UK’s RAC Foundation concludes that the implementation of ASCs in the locations that have been assessed in its report has had the effect of reducing injury collisions, and especially those of a higher severity. Even taking into account other influencing factors, the report says the reductions are large and statistically significant. Researchers analysed detailed accident data taken from 25 sites where average speed cameras were inst
    Read More
  • Monitoring, detection and control systems inside tunnels can do much to improve traveller safety
    August 6, 2013
    ITS technology can do a great deal to improve tunnel safety, as Colin Sowman discovers. It was back in April 2004 that the European Parliament adopted the EU Directive which lays down the Minimum Safety Requirements for Tunnels in the Trans-European Road Network (2004/54/EC). This was the first unitary legislation setting minimum safety standards for European road tunnels and was designed to harmonise the management of tunnel safety at a national level. Operators of existing tunnels have until 30 April 201
    Read More
  • What's next for transport communication systems?
    February 2, 2012
    Moxa Americas, Inc.'s Charles Chen ponders the way forward for transportation communications networks in the US
    Read More

Highlighted Content