Letters: high death toll on French roads is no surprise 

To the Editor,

Your online article about the high death toll on French roads came as no surprise. To an American driver, two factors stand out.

First, the manic aggressiveness (overtaking and tailgating) of French drivers and, second, the suite of design shortcomings on French roads, which include (but are not limited to) the narrow width of French ‘D’ roads, the unrealistically high speed limits on curving, narrow country roads, the prevalence of ditches adjacent to the pavement, and the universal lack of road shoulders and pullouts.

A separate, final issue, is the fact that the gendarmerie does not enforce limits in city zones of 30km.

Vic Ridgley, by email

Read more:  Campaign to reduce speed limit to 30 km/h in all French towns

To the Editor,

The French are very aggressive drivers who tailgate, never signal, never look ahead and speed up to roundabouts. I have witnessed several reckless accidents and seen cars lose control and end up in a ditch. 

Having taken the French driving test, I can point out that they talk a lot and explain what every sign means, but do not do enough practical driving and certainly do not instil safety common sense. 

France is a wonderful country to live in except for the drivers!

Sarah Legon, Var

Send us your own views and experiences via letters@connexionfrance.com