Seine-et-Marne changes part of its secondary network to 90 km / h (illustration) – SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
- Since 26 December, the mobility orientation law authorizes departmental councils to return to 90 km / h.
- The first 90 sign in Seine-et-Marne will be installed on Tuesday in Provins.
- Two commissions are being held this month but are not expected to change the outcome of the project.
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The experiment lasted barely a year and a half. As of Tuesday, a 90 km / h sign will reappear in Seine et Marne, specifically on the D231, at the commune of Provins. The first of a long series. In the coming weeks, nearly 700 others will be installed on 21 roads in the department. “Traffic is relatively low in this first segment but by the end of March the speed will be increased on structuring axes”, assures Patrick Septiers, the president (UDI) of the departmental council. The 459 kilometers of roads that
will return to 90 km / h (out of the 3,000 currently affected by 80 km / h), depending on the department, draw two-thirds of the traffic.
Since the end of December, the mobility orientation law allows departmental councils to depart from the 80 km / h rule on two-way axes and without a central separator. From mid-January, Seine-et-Marne announced its intention to revert to the law of July 2018. “When we look at the accidentology in the sectors whose speed we are going to increase, we realize that this experimentation n ‘was not conclusive,’ says the president of the county council. Worse, according to him, the transition to 80 km / h would have led to a sharp increase in risky behavior. The number of drivers in violation would have dropped from 23% to 47%. On some departmental roads, up to 92% of drivers drive at more than 80 km / h, the department said in a statement.
A contrasted road safety record in Seine-et-Marne
Contrary to the national assessment which highlights an immediate effect of this reform – 206 lives were saved during its first year of operation -, the road safety assessment in Seine-et-Marne, although it does not only concern the secondary network, is more contrasted. In 2019, 1,017 accidents were recorded, 59 more than in 2018. If the number of road fatalities is down very slightly, 71 in 2019 against 73 the previous year, that of the injured has increased ( 1,392 vs. 1,311). “Speed is not the only reason for road accidents,” insists Patrick Septiers. In many cases, alcohol, the telephone, or non-compliance with basic rules are at fault. “
A first departmental committee – including representatives of the State, the department, mayors, professional organizations and user associations – will meet this Monday to decide on this return to 90 km / h, first on roads with little traffic. A second meeting will take place later this month for busy roads. But their opinion is only advisory and should not change the outcome of the project. “We expect to have a negative opinion, we know that this is an implicit instruction from the government,” said the chairman of the departmental council. We will listen to suggestions, if relevant adjustments are proposed we will obviously take them into account. “The fact remains that this measure has a cost and not least: in July, Patrick Septiers entrusted to 20 minutes that this return to 90 km / h could cost up to 500,000 euros.
