Par Michael Moriceau
Published on
“Never two without three”: the expression is well known. And it fits perfectly with the situation on the RD 18.
In the space of a few months, this axis has seen the number of speed cameras increase from two to three. And this, on a portion of 15 km.
For the record, the one Saint-Andre-de-Messei, opposite the sawmill, was installed in July 2009.
In December 2022, a turret radar was born in La Ferriere-aux-Etangs, on the straight line where the former Meubles Batillat premises are located.
And a few days ago, it was his little brother who was implanted at a place called Les Petits-Champs, between Saint-Maurice-du-Désert and La Sauvagère. In all three cases, the speed is limited to 90 km/h.
This deployment, which follows the poor road record of 2022 in Orne, has sparked many comments on social networks: “Three radars to go to Flers, it’s starting to do well”; “It’s not road safety, it’s road harassment”; “The road to Flers, mashed potatoes, there will soon be more speed cameras than trees!”
“I was not consulted”
Asked about the subject, Stéphan Gravelat, mayor of the Monts d’Andaine, recalls what he said during the vows ceremony: “the town hall has nothing to do with it”. And to add: “At no time were we consulted for this radar. I learned about it from a traffic order”.
As for the site chosen for the establishment, the first city councilor is rather skeptical. “I don’t have the impression that this stretch of road was particularly accident-prone. I have the feeling that this radar and that of La Ferrière-aux-Etangs were installed on overtaking slots, which are rare on the La Ferté / Flers axis. I would have preferred this radar to be positioned in the town of La Sauvagère, which is in zone 30, to slow down the vehicles”.
The observed accident
Asked about the subject, the prefecture of Orne recalled the context: “we are seeing a significant excess mortality on the roads of the department in 2022, with 24 deaths compared to 19 in 2021. However, speed is still one of the major precursors of accidents in Orne (observed in 32% of fatal accidents). The deployment of automatic speed cameras therefore meets the objective of protecting routes outside built-up areas. They contribute to heightening the vigilance of drivers and make it possible to penalize speeders”.
Recalling that seven new radars will be deployed during the first quarter of 2023, in addition to the 38 radars already in service in the department, the prefecture explained that “the routes concerned were chosen on the basis of the accident rate observed”.
As for the turret radar which was being installed on the RD18 in Monts-d’Andaine, “it will report the speeds retained above 90 km/h. The commissioning date will be set soon, once the technical tests have been carried out”.
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