Road safety: down 17 % mortality in January over one year in mainland France

The number of deaths on the roads of mainland France recorded a decrease of 17 % in January 2025 compared to January 2024, with a total of 203 people killed, road safety announced on Monday.

The number of serious injuries over these same periods is also decreasing ( – 9 %), with 934 serious injuries identified last month.

In January, mortality was marked “By a decrease in the deaths of motorists” With 97 motorists killed, 21 less than in January 2024, the interministerial national road safety observatory indicates.

The number of deaths also fell among cyclists, six killed against 15 in January 2024, and bikers: 21 lost their lives against 40 last year at the same period.

But the number of pedestrians killed on the roads increased: 61 lost their lives in January 2025, 12 more than in January 2024.

In total, the police counted 3,764 corporal traffic accidents in metropolitan France in January 2025.

20 people killed in addition to sea

The interministerial delegate for road safety, Florence Guillaume, recalled in this press release the road safety rules, especially in the mountains, calling in the press release “Special vigilance for journeys related to winter holidays”.

“I recall the need to respect the safety rules, put your smartphone in driving mode, take regular breaks and, if you go to mountain areas, think of putting chains in your trunk or equipping your vehicle snow tires “she said.

“Driving distractors – who are most often the phone – are present in one in four bodily accidents”she added.

On the overseas roads, 20 people were killed, a figure up 5 % compared to the same period last year.

The number of bodily accidents (285) and injured (364) also increased slightly last month in the overseas territories, up 1 % and 2 % respectively.