The dangerousness of the roads. Sunday, a tragic road accident, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq in the North, claimed the lives of three young police officers aged 24 and 25 who were on mission. An Alfa Romeo, traveling at 120 km / h and in the wrong direction, hit them. Ironically, this tragedy occurred the day before the Road Safety at Work Days, which are held from May 22 to 26.
Because these police officers are, alas, far from being the only ones to have been victims of a road accident while doing their job. In 2021, 454 people died on a work-related journey, i.e. 15.4% of road deaths, according to the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety. They were 406 in 2019.
In total, more than 11,600 people were victims of an accident in the context of a professional trip, that is to say an accident on mission, such as young police officers. “This figure is down 18% for accidents on mission and 11% for commuting accidents between work and home”, specifies the Directorate General for Labour.
Accidents caused by speeding
However, road accidents remain the leading cause of death in the workplace. They result, each year, in nearly 4.8 million lost working days per year, according to the National Health Insurance Fund. Employers and employees are all affected by this phenomenon.
In Aisne, the prefect Thomas Campeaux wanted to double down on this problem. In 2022, more than 600 awareness-raising actions were organised, which is around a hundred more than the previous year.
In his department, three causes of fatal accidents stand out. In 2022, 52% of accidents were caused by speeding. The other two problems are recklessness (37%), due for example to inattention, dangerous overtaking or using the telephone while driving.
The third cause is linked to addictive behavior (29%), with the use of narcotics and alcohol. “These accidents could have been avoided if the drivers had followed the rules of the Highway Code. Road safety is everyone’s business”, observes Thomas Campeaux, who has made it one of his main battles. In his department, he relies on the deployment of radars in the sectors where there are the most accidents and on the multiplication of vehicles equipped with a radar, crisscrossing the roads.