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

  • New approach to real time travel information - free of charge
    February 3, 2012
    Austria's national road operator, ASFINAG, has launched the TMCplus traveller information service which is unusual in that it offers encrypted-level services to all users free of charge. Martin Müllner writes
    Read More
  • Building Europe’s roads for driverless age
    June 17, 2022
    Creating smart, co-operative road transport systems that harness the white heat of technology won’t be easy but a new document shows the way – Andrew Stone does some reading…
    Read More
  • US Senate approves Highway Trust Fund patch
    August 1, 2014
    The US Congress gave final approval last night to a US$10.8 billion bill to replenish the federal Highway Trust Fund and through to May 2015. It now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The Transportation Department had set Friday as the day the Highway Trust Fund would run out of reserves and told states they could expect an average 28 percent reduction in federal aid. The fund relies primarily on gasoline and diesel fuel taxes that haven’t been increase in two decades. Commenting on the
    Read More
  • Preparing for connected vehicle technology challenge
    December 14, 2012
    A decision on mandating connected vehicle technology is expected in 2013, when associated political issues such as privacy are likely to come to the fore. Pete Goldin investigates industry’s preparations for the challenge. Once in a while new technology comes along with the power to revolutionise the way we live our lives. Connected vehicle technology could be such a game changer. If mandated in the United States, it could quickly become the status quo for transportation in the US, and such a disruptive cha
    Read More

Highlighted Content