Safer French roads or incorrect estimation?

Official figures for French road safety reveal a small drop in fatalities for January 2014 compared with January 2013. However these results have been queried over possible inaccuracies and inconsistencies. According to the official body 6081 Sécurité Routière, 238 people were killed in traffic accidents in January 2014, down 0.5% compared to January 2013. However, the number of crashes rose 7.5% during the period, leading to an increase in injuries of 10.6% to 5,694 in January 2014. The increased crash figures are thought to be due to the fact that more powered two-wheelers were in use in January 2014 than in January 2013 due to better weather conditions.

However the motoring body, 6468 40 Millions d'automobilistes, association has queries the official figures from Sécurité Routière. The motoring association says that in January 2013, Sécurité Routière counted 271 deaths. Securité Routière explains that its figures are based on forecast data from police services in each department and that software counts the number of deaths in 30 days. The motoring association says that Sécurité Routière is comparing real figures in 2013 to forecast data in January 2014. Real data for January will be announced in June. According to the motoring association, monthly safety communiqués have no credibility. But Sécurité Routière has defended the principle of monthly statistics. French road safety body Ligue Contre la Violence Routière says that there was a bug in January 2013 statistics and wants the figures to be reverified.