A traffic accident. Here in Bouaye in Loire-Atlantique (illustration). - F. Elsner / 20 Minutes

The start of 2020 was particularly deadly on the Loire-Atlantique roads. By Monday evening, five people had already lost their lives in traffic accidents. Several seriously injured were also hospitalized over the same period. Three motorists had died on Wednesday, January 1, including two in a head-on collision between a motorhome and a car in Treillières. The latest fatal accident was that of a 50-year-old biker on boulevard de la Prairie de Mauves, in Nantes, Monday afternoon.

This black series is all the more worrying as it takes place in an already bleak context for departmental road safety. Because after three successive years of decline, the number of fatal accidents increased sharply in 2019 (+ 34%). No less than 70 deaths have been recorded, according to the latest figures posted online by the prefecture of Loire-Atlantique, 18 more than in 2018. In 2017, the number of killed did not exceed 59. Accidents have also increased by 28%.

The most affected 30-44 year olds

If we look a little more in detail, the 2019 fatal accidents peaked in September (10 deaths). They are mainly found in the Nantes conurbation. Motorists are the first victims (33) in front of pedestrians (12) and bikers (10). The 30-44 age group is by far the most affected.

Requested, the prefect of Loire-Atlantique announced that he "will speak in the coming days about road safety". At the beginning of last year, he deplored an increase in speed observed, in particular due to the deterioration of many radars.

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  • Road accident
  • Nantes
  • Road safety