In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the president of the Department of Loire-Atlantique explains why the maximum authorized speed limit will not be raised to 90 km/h.
Friday 7th June 2019, Philippe Grosvalet, President of the Department of Loire-Atlantique, sent a letter to Edouard Philippe, Prime Minister, about the speed limit on departmental roads.
#Routes Le Département de #LoireAtlantique ne reviendra pas sur la limitation à 80 km/h.
Mon courrier au Premier ministre ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CiziRJwZds— Philippe Grosvalet (@PGrosvalet) 7 June 2019
He announces that he will not come back on the limitation to 80 km/h:
“This measure is progress. According to Road Safety, it saved 127 lives in the second half of 2018 alone. 127 deaths prevented thanks to braking distances of less than 13 meters for driving at 80 km / h or 90 km / h, or thanks to deceleration values where the shock suffered by the occupants of a vehicle passes from the zone of injuries in general neither fatal nor definitive, to that where the chances of survival are infinitesimal.”
On May 16, 2019, Edouard Philippe indicated that he had no problem with the presidents of county councils “taking their responsibilities” and could raise the maximum authorized speed from 80 to 90 km/h. Parliamentarians have introduced an amendment to this effect in the draft mobility law.
127 dramas avoided
Philippe Grovalet continues:
127 dramas avoided for a reduced price: two additional minutes on a journey of 25 km, 50 seconds on a journey of 11 kilometers.
The president of the department of Loire-Atlantique recalls “recent history” which “teaches us that the major changes in road mortality are directly related to major measures. “And to quote the first measures of speed limits and the wearing of the belt ” which, in 1973 and 1974, for the first time reversed the road mortality curve. ”
“Very unpopular in their time, a time when there were up to 17,000 killed each year on the road, these measures are now fully accepted and integrated.”
For climate and economic difficulties too
Philippe Grosvalet highlights other aspects of the change from the maximum authorized speed to 80 km/h: “It has proved positive for two of the major challenges of our society: the fight against climate change and the response to financial difficulties. that our citizens know, especially those who depend on the daily use of the car. Indeed, the demonstration was made that driving at 80 km/h rather than 90 km/h decreases pollutant emissions by 30% and generates a saving of € 120 per year on average fuel. ”
And to criticize “the method used on this file, as much as a year and a half ago these last weeks”.
“In January 2018 as in recent weeks, the lack of consultation was obvious. Never the Departments, however the first concerned in view of the number of accumulated kilometers under their responsibility, will have been consulted. It would have been better to work with Departments before the 80 km / h limit was introduced, to share the goal of reducing insecurity and road mortality, and to collectively decide what action to take.”
In the Loire-Atlantique département, some sections of the most accident-free roads and those where the cohabitation of different uses was to be improved or encouraged, have risen to 70 km/h .
At the end of June, the departmental council will decide on a plan bringing together more than 100 actions for shared, secure and sustainable journeys. Some of these actions are intended to promote a better sharing of the road, whether within the same vehicle (carpooling, solidarity transport …) or on the road itself between the different modes (car, bike, motorcycle, trucks, tractors …).
