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The French Cycling Federation (FFVélo) and the associations Mon vélo est une vie and 40 millions d’automobilistes have issued a joint press release to denounce the dangers faced by sports cyclists on the road.
On Saturday, January 21, 2023, on departmental road 84 in Plouagat, a drunk driver hit thirteen young cyclists from the Vélo Club du Pays de Guingamp. The driver collided head-on with the group of riders and then fled the scene. Once again, these rural road accidents involved sports cyclists as victims.
More than 60% of cyclists who die after an accident were riding outside of urban areas. These cyclists include both affiliated sports practitioners and recreational riders. The consequence of this insecurity could lead to a decrease in licensed members of federations, whose only training ground is the road, and a general decrease in cycling practice, which is a major public health and mobility issue.
We understand the concern of parents who entrust their children to an affiliated structure to practice on country roads open to traffic. How can we reassure them when we know that some people would like to “strike” a group of cyclists? Indeed, many can testify to the dangerousness that reckless drivers demonstrate daily.
This is why rural cycling must achieve the same safety as urban cycling. With the government’s encouragement of soft mobility, rural cycling must achieve the same safety as urban cycling. Whether for sport or leisure, we should be able to ride without fear of road offenders. Our future champions, some of whom may participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, are just as concerned as cycling tourists or any recreational practitioner.
It is with this determination that we ask the Ministries of Sports and Interior to organize a “Grenelle de la mobilité” (Mobility Summit) as soon as possible, inviting the associations and federations signatory to this communiqué. The objective will be to quickly establish a safety strategy to reduce the mortality rate on roads by coexisting and sharing the roadway as effectively as possible.
Source: Press Release
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