The primary aim of this study was to define precisely the scale of the problem and the seriousness of accidents on two-way roads outside built-up areas. On average, over the period 2013-2017, 3,400 people were killed each year in mainland France, 2,400 of them outside built-up areas. Of these 2,400 people killed outside built-up areas, 1,900 (80%) are killed each year on two-way roads. Two-way roads are very serious : 80% of fatalities outside built-up areas, for 58% of bodily injury accidents outside built-up areas. Moreover, the number of accidents has not declined over the period observed : in 5 years, the number of bodily injury accidents on two-way roads outside built-up areas has risen by 25% (5 points more than on non two-way roads), while the total number of bodily injury accidents in France has risen slightly by 3%. The study also identified different accident types. It appears that the main issue is accidents outside intersections, and without pedestrians. The number of fatalities (1,900) per year on two-way roads outside built-up areas breaks down as follows : -1,600 fatalities in non-intersection accidents involving no pedestrians (84%), - 230 killed in accidents at intersections with no pedestrians (12%), - 90 killed in accidents involving pedestrians (4%). The analyses showed that each type of accident had specific characteristics and accident factors. For non-intersection accidents involving pedestrians, the main road safety issues are : - Accidents on bends: with 41% of fatalities (650 fatalities per year) on this type of cross-section, although the proportion of bends on the entire length of the road under consideration is certainly much lower, - Night-time accidents account for 39% of fatalities (630 fatalities per year). Given the lowerlevels of traffic at night, the risk appears to be much greater than during the day. Thenumber of deaths at night (22) is higher than during the day (16). This can be explained in part by the higher speeds used. - Single vehicle accidents against a fixed obstacle (610 fatalities per year), in which almost one in two fatalities is against a tree, - Head-on collisions (510 fatalities per year), - Accidents involving a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs (480 deaths per year). Accidents at intersections without pedestrians present the following challenges: - The stakes are higher at X intersections (47% of fatal accidents) than at T intersections (27%) or roundabouts (7%); - Higher fatality rates when intersections are not lit, whatever the type of intersection. - On the other hand, alcohol is less of a factor in this type of accident (9 times less than in non-intersection accidents involving no pedestrians). Accidents involving pedestrians are a low priority for accidents on two-way roads outside built-upareas. Their main characteristics are as follows: - 61% of accidents occur at night without street lighting (55 fatalities per year), and 85% of fatalities in night-time accidents occur without street lighting. The fatality rate for accidents without public lighting is 40, compared with 16 with public lighting, - 34% of pedestrians killed were crossing the carriageway (30 deaths per year), and 32% were walking in the same direction as the striking vehicle, - Alcohol was involved in 32% of fatalities. Finally, a comparison between RD and RN shows the specific nature of accidents on these two networks. 86% of fatal accidents not involving pedestrians occur on a RD, compared with 7% on RN, a network on which accident fatalities are three points higher than on RD. Because of its configuration, the RD has a high concentration of accidents on bends (41% compared with 29% on the RN) and of single-vehicle accidents against fixed obstacles (39% of fatalities on the RD compared with 15% on the RN), whereas the RN is heavily involved in head-on collisions (48% of fatalities compared with 32% on the RD). In terms of user factors, alcohol is more prevalent on the main roads (35% of fatal accidents, compared with 20% on the main roads), while the main road network is characterised by a higher incidence of discomfort/fatigue (19% of fatal accidents, compared with 11% on the main roads). Foreword for publications translated into foreign languages The purpose of translated documents and publications is to pass on to non-French speaking readers the French know-how set out in the original publication, whether this concerns knowledge, methodologies, tools or best pratices. Original publications in French are subject to a checking process, which leads to a Cerema commitment regarding their content. English versions do not undergo the same process, and consequently carry no Cerema commitment. In the event of differences between the English and the original French text, the French text serves at the reference.
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