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

  • Glow-in-the-dark road debuts in the Netherlands
    April 15, 2014
    First promised in 2012, light-absorbing glow-in-the-dark road markings have finally made an appearance on a 500 metre stretch of the N329 road in the Netherlands. Developed by artist Daan Roosegarde and Dutch civil engineering firm Heijmans, the markings use a photo-luminescent powder integrated into the road paint, absorbing light during the day and glowing for up to eight hours in the dark. Part of Roosegarde’s vision included weather markings that become visible at certain temperatures, such as a s
    Read More
  • Authorities look to MaaS for new solutions and cost savings
    July 18, 2017
    The structure of society and the way in which our cities work will be completely transformed by Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Finland’s minister of transport and communications Anne Berner, told ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference 2017 in London. In her keynote address, Berner told a packed audience of more than 200 ITS professionals that MaaS has the potential to help governments around the world meet their big city targets such as the rate of employment, the environment, the efficient use of
    Read More
  • Ministers to urge use of ‘drive safe’ modes for mobile phones
    December 20, 2016
    An informal meeting in Whitehall is due to take place early in 2017, according to the Guardian, in which ministers and officials will tell mobile companies that ‘drive safe’ modes, similar to the airplane mode that has become standard, must be included in basic software ahead of a broader crackdown on illegal mobile phone use on the roads. In spring 2017, the fixed penalty for using a mobile phone while driving without a hands-free device will double to US$248 (£200). The fixed penalty notice will increa
    Read More
  • New York City wins ITF award
    May 25, 2018
    New York City has won the 2018 Transport Achievement Award of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The city’s Department of Transportation was recognised for its commitment to Vision Zero – a programme set up to help cut and eliminate traffic deaths. Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the city’s Vision Zero programme in New York in 2014. The initiative is said to have reduced the number of traffic deaths on New York’s streets by 20% and halved
    Read More

Highlighted Content