As the 80-kilometre-per-hour (km/h) speed limit comes into force on 1 July 2018, we take a closer look at road deaths in the Ardèche. (Update: a return to 90 km/h on 1 September 2022 in the Ardèche )
From the north to the south of the department, 6 main roads alone account for 51% of fatal accidents and fatalities, for a total length of only 12% of the roads in the Ardèche, but with a high traffic density.
The roads concerned are, from north to south of the Ardèche :
- The D86 departmental road (Rhône valley, former N86 national road)
- The D82, D578, D534 and D104 departmental roads
- The N102 trunk road
The study published in the JDD (Sunday newspaper) on 17 June 2018 looks at the 400,000 kilometres of two-way roads without a median separator in France between 2006 and 2015.
Logically, the conclusion is clear: it is the roads with the best layouts and the heaviest traffic, often straight roads with high speeds, that are the most accident-prone and deadly.
The Ardèche department is no exception to the rule and, 3 years after the return to 90 km/h, road deaths are 42% higher than the national average .
- Sources: JDD (2018), France Bleu Drôme-Ardèche (2022) and Hebdo de l’Ardèche (2026).
- Roads in the Ardèche
- League Against Road Violence ↗