Road safety challenge to decrease fatal crashes on high-speed roads

Road safety challenge to decrease fatal crashes on high-speed roads

When it comes to road safety, the gap is widening between the number of accidents in urban and rural areas, including high-speed roads, in 2022. Despite seriously injured figures are decreasing on urban roads compared to 2019, they are still increasing in suburban areas

Urban, suburban, and high-speed roads: a contrasting picture

From a general point of view, 1,926 people died on suburban roads, being 59% of fatal accidents, and 1,034 on urban roads in 2022. Moreover, there were 7,600 seriously injured on extra urban roads, i.e. 48% of seriously injured people, and 7,200 in town. 300 people passed away in a accident on motorways where fatal crashes keep increasing by 14%.

We note three main evolutions regarding road accidents last year. First, fatal crashes out of town decreased by 1%, especially in car accidents. However, figures stepped up regarding vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, pedestrians, cyclists, and scooters. On the other hand, the progression of soft mobility did not lead to a raise in accidents and figures remain relatively stable. Lastly, serious and fatal crashes did not reduce on high-speed roads and reached 14%.

Pedestrians and cyclists in danger

Despite the lower pedestrian fatal crashes, we observe that most of them lost their lives in a rural area. Indeed, 25 more people died on extra urban roads and 10 more on high-speed ones.

The trend is also rising for cyclists. Given the cyclism rising trend, +34% in town and +17% in rural area, the death rate increased significantly on both urban and extra urban roads. The dead cyclists figures increased by 16%, especially among those 65 and older, and the seriously injured ones by 8%. The situation is getting worse out of town as well, where the number of cyclists raised by 18%, 137 passed away in 2019, being +47%, and +22% were seriously injured.

Cycliste en milieu urbain

Encouraging figures regarding motorcyclists

Unlike cyclists, the situation of motocyclists has improved. Indeed, mortality reduced by 5% compared to 2019 and by 13% in urban areas, whilst 715 motocyclists passed away and 5,400 were seriously injured in 2022. The safety level on roads outside lightly raised even if it decreased among young people with only 40 fatal crashes.

ONISR

Vélo et Territoires

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Road Safety: enormous progress has been made over the last few decades, according to Paul-Henri Renard, CEO of PARIFEX

Paul-Henri Renard, CEO of PARIFEX, talks about road safety advances over the last decades and important measures to take.

Do you think road safety is an urgent issue?

The situation varies greatly from one country to another. In the particular case of France, the Cour des Comptes recognises that enormous progress has been made over the last few decades in its report on public road safety policy in 2021. Indeed, we have gone from more than 18,000 deaths on France’s roads in 1972 to less than 3,500 today. But they warn that the results are stagnating. Since 2013, the number of deaths has stopped falling and France’s position in relation to its European neighbours has deteriorated, falling from 7th to 14th place in ten years. Some countries, such as Sweden with its “Nollvisionen” project, are well ahead in achieving the goal of “zero deaths, zero serious injuries” on the roads. We still have a lot of progress to make in our country. It is therefore an urgent matter in France.

What are the main causes of accidents on French roads?

A road accident occurs when an element disrupts the combination of user, vehicle and environment in an irrecoverable way. More than 90% of accidents are the result of a malfunction linked to the user, whether it is a human failure linked to the complexity of the task or a deliberate refusal to respect the rules.

Excessive or inappropriate speed is the leading cause of fatal accidents. The police identify this factor in one in three fatal accidents. For this type of accident, this speed factor occurs more often than average on roads limited to 70 km/h, which probably reflects the difficulty for drivers to perceive the specific nature of these sections and to become aware of the associated dangers. It is less present on motorways where the speed limit is 130 km/h.

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is the second most common cause of death on the roads, after speeding. 43% of deaths occur in accidents with at least one driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is a scourge that is difficult to eradicate other than through prevention measures and driver awareness, because we do not currently have a similar technology as automatic speed control. This is evidenced by the number of licence points withdrawn in 2017. 70% of these were lost for speeding, compared with 0.9% for drug use and 5.2% for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Finally, driving a vehicle requires the driver to be highly concentrated on the task in hand in order to react as quickly as possible and make the right decisions. In France in 2021, the causal factor “inattention or use of a telephone or technological distractors” is identified in 23% of cases. There are several types of distractors (visual, manual, cognitive or auditory) from sources inside or outside the vehicle. In particular, mind wandering, i.e. being lost in thought, is a significant road safety hazard. Studies show that it is present in 25-50% of injury accidents, which is huge. According to a multifactorial analysis of accident causes (ASFA) between 2016 and 2020, lack of attention is involved in 15% of fatal motorway accidents. According to the World Health Organisation, the use of a telephone while driving quadruples the risk of an accident.

What are the most important safety measures to take on the roads in your opinion?

Given that 90% of accidents are generated by a malfunction linked to the user, it is essential to continue to improve behaviour through awareness and prevention operations. Of course, we can continue to communicate on the dangers of excessive speed, alcohol or drugs at the wheel. But this will not be enough. The evolution of technologies and modes of mobility generates new accident-prone situations. 

There is, of course, the use of telephones at the wheel, but also multimedia screens in cars, which provide new functionalities for drivers but which can also generate mental overload in certain cases. As the HMI of some vehicles is particularly complex and overloaded, there is an urgent need to simplify the landscape!

It is also essential to educate drivers about the specificities of the different means of mobility and the measures that are taken to facilitate their coexistence. I am struck by the fact that few people really understand the function of the cycle lock and that many are unaware of the penalty for occupying the zone with a car or truck.

Similarly, limiting the road safety debate to the enforcement of speed limits has become counterproductive. As high speeding has become the exception, we now need to focus our efforts on adapting speed to the context and limits of the human body. For example, a human can tolerate a collision with a modern car if the maximum speed is around 30 km/h. If a higher speed is desired in an urban area, the only viable solution is to adapt the infrastructure by separating pedestrian crossings from traffic. To ensure the safety of car occupants, the maximum speed of modern cars is about 70 km/h in a frontal impact and 50 km/h in a side impact. Speeds above 100 km/h can only be tolerated if the infrastructure is designed to prevent frontal and side impacts. And the situation is becoming more complex with the increasing use of bicycles, scooters and other soft mobility.

Cycliste en milieu urbain

How does PARIFEX help to improve road safety?

Over the past 15 years, PARIFEX has delivered more than 500 speed cameras to enforce the limits set to ensure the safety of motorists and the flow of traffic. Our innovation activities have made us pioneers, for example with our Double-Side VIGIE speed camera, in new technologies such as the identification of the offending vehicle when the road is multi-lane, the classification of the vehicle to apply the correct speed limit or the taking of pictures from the front and the rear of the vehicle to also identify offending two-wheelers.

More recently, we have developed a multi-infraction NOMAD solution capable of monitoring both speed limit compliance and red light running. This equipment operates non-invasively, without the need to install loops or strips in the roadway of the intersection. The camera visually monitors the signal heads, which means that it is not necessary to physically connect the traffic lights to the monitoring system, which is a significant advantage for towns that want to equip themselves with this system.

All these mature solutions are a daily support to the State’s operations to improve compliance with the rules of the road. Without revealing any secrets, I can tell you that our work is now moving towards innovative technologies that will further improve responsible behaviour on the roads to facilitate the coexistence of trucks, cars, motorbikes, cyclists, pedestrians, etc. on the roads. In parallel to these new features, we are also working on privacy and energy efficiency of our products. The use of a 3D-LiDAR sensor to detect the presence of vehicles allows us to activate our camera and infrared projector only when an offending vehicle is present, which avoids filming and flooding the environment with light at all times. Similarly, our speed camera cabinets are double-walled to allow efficient air circulation, eliminating the need for air conditioning even in very hot climates. This special design significantly reduces energy consumption and thus CO2 emissions.

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Are vulnerable road users in danger?

The French Road Safety Observatory sounds the alarm on vulnerable road users

The French Road Safety Observatory has released the road fatal accident report for 2022 focusing on the worrying increase of vulnerable road users accidents such as cyclists, scooters, and personal motorised vehicles. 

Vulnerable road users figures

From a general point of view, the number of injured has decreased by 1,3% and seriously injured by 1,9% in 2022 compared to 2019 and 2021. Motorcyclist fatal accidents have also decreased by 5%, especially in urban area.

Unfortunately, figures have been reversed regarding cyclists and personal motorised vehicles. Indeed, the Observatory highlights the worrying increasing number of vulnerable road user fatal accidents. Cyclists fatal crashes have increased by more than 30%, being 244 people killed and 57 more than in 2019, and severity of injury by 13, being 2 600.

Moreover, accidents including personal motorised vehicle such as scooters have significantly increased. Indeed, 34 people have lost their lives in 2022 vs only 10 in 2019. Regarding seriously injured persons, they have grown from 400 in 2019 to 600 in 2022.

Growing soft mobility 

Cycliste en milieu urbain

Biking is raising and reaches 33% vs 2019 before lockdown and remote working. Bike journeys keep on growing and have increased by 28% compared to 2021.

Various kinds of French state aids and public self-service bicycles have participated in the increase of bike riders. Danger is extending beyond the urban area since cyclist fatal accidents have increased by 47% and injured by 22% compared with 2019.

E-scooters are also increasingly used with some 2 billion users throughout the country. They have become an affordable, practical and quick alternative facing the increase in fuel prices.

Pedestrians remain safe

As for pedestrians, figures remain stable and a 13% reduction is expected between 2019 and 2022.

It is necessary to highlight that pedestrian fatal crashes keep growing in extra-urban areas. Indeed, one quarter of pedestrians died on extra-urban roads while urban fatal crashes are decreasing.

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[PRESS RELEASE] PARIFEX 3D-LiDAR Speed Cameras are Awarded Triple Certification

“We are proud to have our solutions registered once again. This is a significant step forward for people and goods safety on roads. Indeed, 3D-LiDAR technology is an innovation allowing us to develop additional features in order to improve driver’s behaviour.”
Paul-Henri Renard
CEO of PARIFEX

Paris, 18 April 2023 – PARIFEX, a major French company that designs and produces multi-violation radars and road counting solutions, is proud to announce that its 3D-LiDAR-based fixed and mobile speed cameras have been awarded triple certification. The NANO-CAM, compact device designed for mobile speed control, and the NOMAD, fixed speed camera designed for urban use, are now approved for speed control. The highway speed camera Double-Side VIGIE has been registered as well.

PARIFEX’s latest three registrations

PARIFEX fixed and mobile speed control systems NANO-CAM, NOMAD and Double-Side VIGIE, equipped with a 3D LiDAR sensor, have received a series of approvals in recent months, becoming the very first 3D-LiDAR radars approved worldwide. The Double-Side VIGIE, specialized in high-speed control in an extra-urban environment, includes from now an optimised operating system recently approved. Regarding the fixed NOMAD and the mobile NANO-CAM, they are now certified for speed enforcement. “We are proud to have our solutions registered once again. This is a significant step forward for people and goods safety on roads. Indeed, 3D-LiDAR technology is an innovation allowing us to develop additional features in order to improve driver’s behaviour.”, explains Paul-Henri Renard, CEO of PARIFEX.

Versatile 3D-Lidar speed cameras

At height on the shoulder of the road or on a movable tripod, PARIFEX’s speed cameras control speed from 30 to 250 km/h in any environment such as highway, national and local roads, and urban areas. 3D technology provides better vehicle identification and classification as well as optimized vehicle tracking, including in heavy traffic. Moreover, PARIFEX’s solutions are highly resistant to extreme conditions and weather.

User-friendly devices

The NANO-CAM is a light, compact and easily transportable sensor to control speed in any situation. This user-friendly device includes autocalibration for a faster set up. Indeed, the operator only has to install the NANO-CAM on its tripod and the autocalibration starts automatically. Through the 3D-LiDAR sensor, the mobile NANO-CAM speed camera provides a 360-degree vision in order to collect traffic data in real time such as speed, dimensions, direction, distance of all fixed and mobile objects.

About PARIFEX

PARIFEX is the French specialist in the design and installation of innovative solutions for the the process industries, road safety and intelligent mobility. The company has developed a range of highly effective law enforcement systems for speeding and red light running.

Press Contact

Mélissa Lacroix

Communications Manager

mlacroix@parifex.com

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Our CO² emissions decreased in 2021

Our CO² emissions decreased in 2021

The Carbon Footprint results highlight that our CO² emissions reduced by 3% in 2021.

The emissions have been reduced by almost 45% in purchasing and business trips, the most significant decreasing activities.

It results from an improvement action plan implemented of all company activities in 2021 and 2022:

  • Teleworking
  • Reducing business trips
  • Increasing computer lifetime
  • Training on eco-design to enhance our speed camera design and production

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Our distributor network gathered in PARIFEX’s Parisian Headquarters

Two-Day Training Workshops with our Distributors

We were very pleased to welcome our distributors GET Group, PRT, Signaal and Safety Cam in our Parisian headquarters for two-day training workshops on our services and solutions.

This very first event gave us the opportunity to share valued discussions and:

♦ Brainstorm regarding the latest evolutions and innovations
♦ Share their market knowledge and technical skills 
♦  Take part in demonstrations

Thank you to our partners for their trust and good humour!

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Quality Policy 2023 highlighting Customer Satisfaction and System Performance

Quality Policy 2023

We continue our efforts and aim for improvements in our quality system 2023 in order to provide the best services and solutions and guarantee an operational efficiency to our customers.

Different tools such as surveys have been put in place throughout the year to measure the customer satisfaction for every completed project.

PARIFEX is a ISO 9001 ans ISO 14001 certified company. Learn more about the certification.

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The French city of Dijon bets on urban data to enhance the city

The French metropolis of Dijon becoming smart city through urban data

Digitalisation of public spaces is one of the main issues for cities to remain attractive. That is why the French city of Dijon has built a transformation plan to become a smart city. Urban data, connected buildings, smart lighting, hydrogen bus, citizen’s portal… Dijon has started a comprehensive project including inhabitants at the center of transformations.

Citizens as leaders of the transformation

Inhabitants are key players in the transformation of cities whether it deals with a small town or a large metropolis. Not only are they the first public involved by change, but they also must be actors of it.

That is why Dijon has designed a transformation plan for an intelligent territory through urban data collection, connected buildings, smart lighting, hydrogen bus… 

Smart City collecte de données

An ambitious project

The Dijon digitalisation strategy is a comprehensive project that aims to offer a pleasant urban space. Regarding lighting, 34.000 equipements are already connected and managed in real time.

At night, they come on as soon as they detect a movement which has enabled to save 65% of energy.

The visionary metropolis goes even further and has invested 150 million euros to successfully complete the project. 

Recently, a collaborative portal, designed by and for people, has been released. This mobile app enables to highlight urban problems, such as traffic difficulties, road accidents, etc. Travelers become the major players of the project by sharing the issues they have across the streets and their experience as users of municipal utilities in real time.

A precious urban data collection

The portal enables the city to get not only grievances but also data that will be useful to get recurrent needs and expenses analysis and statistics . Once the database is available, the metropolis easily could define the main issues to focus on.

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NEWSLETTER #4 – NANO speed camera certification, European & African partenership, Intertraffic’s great success…. Discover the editorial by Franck Peyré, CEO OF PARIFEX

The first semester has been a milestone since our NANO speed enforcement solution has been certified by the French laboratory of metrology and tests as the very first speed camera based on the 3D-LiDAR technology for speed enforcement.
Franck Peyré
CEO

Dear Partner,

The first semester has already ended. And it has been a milestone since our NANO speed enforcement solution has been certified by the French laboratory of metrology and tests (LNE) as the very first speed camera based on the 3D-LiDAR technology for speed enforcement. The certification rewards our commitment, our work and our intense research in the field of innovation, PARIFEX’s moto since the company’s foundation and a part of its DNA.

Then, the NANO-CAM, our compact device for speed control and road counting including a camera and a 3D-LiDAR, will be certified as well in a few weeks. Our latest multifunctional solution offers many features and will enable to control average speed, level crossing, lateral distance, etc.

During this semester, we also were glad to take part and meet you in both Intertraffic Amsterdam and the ITS European Congress in Toulouse. I am pleased to see the deep interest from the all the market players for the mobility sector and the issues regarding road safety. Many companies have taken up the cause in order to provide better solutions to secure our cities, roads, and particularly traffic flows. Professional shows allow to meet new people, discover the many market players and create new business relations between our countries. I thank our partners throughout Europe for their trust, and especially in Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and a bit further… We also continue to cooperate with our partner specialized in engineering, and especially for recent response to the call for tenders for steam injection.

Moreover, we keep on working on North of Africa through a new project for the next three years. PARIFEX will manage studies, procurement, and commissioning of control systems and instrumentation, along with the revamping of a dehydration and industrial decarbonization unit.

Finally, as you know, every industry is affected by the current global context and the supply difficulties. Unfortunately, we are not the exception and we sometimes have difficulties to get some electronic components. The delayed shipping has an impact on our delivery but I want to tell you that our team is working hard to find alternative solutions to keep on our production rate. Although it depends on the suppliers’ rate, we are on optimistic tracks.

I wish you a wonderful summer time and stay safe on the roads.

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Smart infrastructure for safer roads

Fatal traffic accidents: reinventing new infrastructure suitable to the increasing number of travellers and modes of transport

Road safety remains the top mobility issues. Behaviours and causes of accidents are still increasing while traffic injuries keep on worrying. Enforcement has to be reconsidered to protect the ever-increasing number of travellers using ever-diversified modes of transport.

Bruno Maréchal, Sales Director of PARIFEX, analyses road safety figures and explains solutions necessary to improve them.

What is the analysis in terms of fatal traffic accidents?

Nowadays, injuries caused by traffic accidents are a global health issue. The WHO evaluates that about 1.3 billion of people die in road accidents every year worldwide.

In France, we counted 2.550 dead people in 2020, 44 997 physical accidents and 55.754 injured persons. Figures depends on the current health situation but they are still alarming. 

I want to add that about 10 people die on the roads every day. It is interesting to compare figures between countries as France, which has a strict road safety policy, and low-income countries where 93% of global death occur.

Who are the most vulnerable travellers? 

The most vulnerable travellers are pedestrians, bike riders, and motorbike riders, they are the half of the injured persons worldwide. One motorbike rider out of 2 dies in one out of two accidents with another traveler. Regarding profiles, victims are mostly light-duty vehicles and men. Men are 75% of dead people and 82% of people involved in fatal accidents.

It is interesting to highlight that traffic accidents are the most common cause of death for 15-24 year-olds who represent 20% of dead persons.

Considering this analysis, where do most accidents take place?

Most traffic accidents take place on urban roads. However, fatal accidents mostly occur on country roads. 70% of fatal accidents occur in urban roads but represent only 28% of dead persons. In other words, 2 out of 3 dead persons die on country roads.

And globally? 

The number of dead persons has finally stabilised while the number of inhabitants has clearly increased. We see the crash victims number decreasing in 79 countries and increasing in 68 other countries. The crash victims number have successfully decreasing in some countries which have enhanced existing legislation and get safer roads.

What are the main factors in crashes? 

Driver behaviour causes most of accidents and speed is the first factor leading to fatal crashes: 32% of victims are due to excessive speed, 29% to alcohol, 22% to drugs, and 20% to the seat belt, following by whether mobile telephone use, fatigue, or insuffisant safety distance.

The higher the speed is, the more serious the consequencies are. Any impact beyond 80km/h leads to death even if the driver has fastened the sea belt. We know that speed limitation and enforcement are efficient ways to reduce the number of crashes since reducing speed by 1% enables to decrease accidents by 4%. 

What solutions enables to reduce traffic accidents? 

It is essential to control speed with efficient and reliable solutions. PARIFEX specializes in fixed and mobile speed enforcement cameras. The VIGIE and the Double-Side VIGIE are currently on the FrenchVIGIE Double Face vitesse et classification roads and highways. These devices enables speed control on different lines simultaneously, vehicle classification and identification unlik other speed cameras that cannot detect various vehicles at the same time. Our systems detect more than 95% of vehicles. As I explained, speed is no the only factor of accident but it is behaviour. That is why we need to go further in speed enforcement and offer solution able to control dangerous behaviours.

PARIFEX offers innovative solutions including a 3D-LiDAR sensor in order to provide more precise and reliable devices. Can you explain why your solutions are more effective?

PARIFEX chose 3D-LiDAR technology because it offers strong benefits for the operator compared with other technologies. Firstly, the 3D-LiDAR sensor provides highly reliable 3D data and a complete map of the environment. Unlike a camera, the 3D-LiDAR sensor can operate day or night and in any weather conditions. 

Can we fit them in the current infrastructure?

Indeed, our solutions have been designed to fit in the current urban infrastructure. We are taking part in various testings, including one with the Cerema, the French institution dedicated to supporting public policies, under the dual supervision of the ministry for ecological transition and the ministry for regional cohesion and local authority relations. This project on road counting aims to improve traffic safety and flows in urban roundabouts, for example, through data collection and vehicle tracking in real time.

Moreover, we took part in a project of autonomous vehicles. In the urban environment, our sensors enables to analyse traffic and provide data to the autonomous vehicles to ensure safe travels. 

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