Ten more people killed in 2023: the toll deteriorates on the roads of Hérault

Lors d’un accident mortel sur une route de l’Hérault. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN

Tous les voyants ou presque sont au rouge sur les routes de l’Hérault. La situation se dégrade par rapport à 2022, à contre-courant de la tendance nationale. Tour d’horizon.

Whatever criterion we choose, the accident rates (the official term) show a deterioration for the year 2023.

Killed, injured, accidents: things get out of control

The strongest increase (16.67%) is that of the number of deaths, which goes from 60 (in 2022) to 70. That is to say a return to the exact level observed in 2018 and 2019. The number of deaths in Hérault was on average 91 per year from 2011 to 2015, before dropping to 79 in 2016. But since then, this decline has turned into stagnation.

The observation is approximately the same for hospitalized injured people, whose number increases from 370 (in 2022) to 378. If the deterioration is limited (2.16%), it again betrays an impossibility of going lower. In 2019, the reference year before Covid, this figure was 372.

The number of accidents causing at least one minor injury increased from 561 (in 2022) to 656. A sharp increase of 16.93%. But we are still well below the figures observed a few years ago, since we deplored up to 857 accidents in 2019.

A dark year for bikers

Which category of users was most affected by the deterioration observed in 2023 ? This is undoubtedly motorcyclists (125 cm3 and over). With 19 deaths (compared to 15 in 2022, i.e. +26.67%) and 114 hospitalized injuries (compared to 93 in 2022, i.e. +22.58%), bikers have paid a heavy price on the road.

Last year, they represented 27.4% of the number of deaths and 30.16% of the number of injured. Rates much higher than the 2017-2021 period, when they were 23 and 24% respectively.

Mopeds also had a bad year, with 4 deaths (compared to 3 in 2022) and 29 hospitalized injuries (compared to 23 in 2022).

fatal biker accidents in detail

In his “excerpts from the circumstances of fatal accidents” of the year 2023, the prefecture of Hérault traces nine accidents which cost the lives of motorcycle pilots (out of the 19 which took place last year).

In detail, one had no lighting and was hit by a vehicle, one hit a car while overtaking it on the right, four lost control of their machine, including one; one was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Three others had their road cut off by motorized vehicles.

Finally, a tenth fatal accident concerns a moped rider who was riding without a helmet. Three other scooter or cyclo riders lost their lives in 2023.

(very) vulnerable users

Motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians constitute the category of vulnerable users, as opposed to drivers and passengers of cars and trucks, who are better protected in the event of an accident. In 2023, it is motorcycles and cyclos that have increased the number of vulnerable users killed, since they represent 23 deaths out of 34, and injured with 143 out of 225.

As for cyclists, who have seen a very sharp increase on the roads in recent years, the observation is surprising. There were 3 deaths (compared to 5 in 2022) and 29 injuries (compared to 34 in 2022). Remember that there were 76 in 2019, a year which preceded the craze observed for cycling.

For pedestrians, the trend is not satisfactory, with 8 deaths (compared to 6 in 2022) and 53 injuries (compared to 49 in 2022). But in the long term, the improvement remains notable. There were 16 pedestrians killed and 157 injured in 2019 in Hérault!

Pedestrians and cyclists very exposed

Since 2016, the prefecture no longer communicates complete statistics concerning the location of accidents, the age of victims…

Studies by the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing, over the period 2017-2021, allow us to know a little more.

Pedestrians represented 19% of deaths and 14% of injuries in Hérault. It is from October to March, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., when the light drops and there are still many trips, that they are most impacted.< /p>

Unsurprisingly, 90% of accidents occur in built-up areas, and 96% involve a motor vehicle. Seniors (65 and over) represent half of those killed. Children and teenagers represent a quarter of the injured.

Cyclists, in Hérault, they represent 18% of accidents and 12% of deaths. It is from June to September, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., that they are most involved in accidents. 82% occur during the day, 75% in built-up areas and 60% outside intersections. 54% of accidents occur from the side.

45% of the killed and 20% of the injured are seniors (65 years and over). 16% of those killed and 25% of the injured are children or young people (0-24 years old). This is during journeys “leisure walks” that the victims are the most numerous, with 83% of those killed and 54% of those injured.

Motorists on the rise

If we compare 2023 with 2019, a pre-Covid year whose results are almost identical, we deplore an increase in the number of motorists killed (34 compared to 31 in 2022 and 27 in 2019) and a drop in the number of injured (138, compared to 158 in 2019).

Above all, they represent almost half (48.57%) of those killed, while this rate was "only" 38.57% in 2019…

“Bad signals”

Nicolas Gou is president of the League against road violence in Hérault.

What do you think of these numbers ?

They are characterized by a very strong deterioration, all the more significant as it goes against the national trend, marked by an improvement.

Vulnerable users are very impacted…

Yes, and the causes are multifactorial. But there are bad signals, such as the announcement of the end of the elimination of points for speeding of less than 5 km/h (last April) undoubtedly caused a relaxation of motor vehicle drivers. The consequences for pedestrians are significant. With an impact at 40 km/h, the risk of death is 40%. At 45 km/h, it increases to 70%! It’s all the more shocking as this decision was not preceded by any impact study by the government.

What about speed cameras ?

The time delay on the “new generation” urban radars, still absent in Montpellier, has a negative effect. Just like the choice made by the State to have the radars financed by the communities, not all of which will have the means.

The numbers are very bad for bikers…

Speed ​​unfortunately plays an important role. The inter-line traffic experiment was extended to Hérault, despite the increase in accidents noted in the departments where the experiment was carried out.

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