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ISSUE 40
JUNE 2012
PUBLISHERS OF
News and What’s On information for the Dordogne and surrounding area
Speed trap warnings removed this month SIGNS warning drivers of an imminent speed trap will be removed by the end of this month, replaced by new “educational radars” telling them how fast they are travelling. There will be 16 of them in the department, near existing speed cameras, plus an extra five that are not near an actual radar. The director of the Dordogne’s road safety watchdog, Alain Bordes, said the effectiveness of the new displays would not be known for some time. He said their aim was to do everything possible to prevent more accidents and deaths on the department’s roads. Mr Bordes said the idea was to encourage drivers to take responsibility and slow down. “A lot of people don’t look regularly at their speedometer and are not always aware that they’re driving faster than the limit,” he said. So far this year, 17 people have died in car accidents in the Dordogne, a figure described by the préfecture as “extremely high”. Gendarmes have been carrying out more speed and drink-driving checks on main roads. Deputy prefect Hélène Geronimi said alcohol, speed and night driving were all main causes of accidents. She urged people to adapt their driving to the conditions.
€40 million plan to reduce power cuts by JANE HANKS THE Dordogne’s sub-standard electricity supply is to benefit from a €40m investment aimed at bringing it up to national standards within five years and reducing power cuts. The supply is currently one of the worst in the country. ERDF, the body responsible for the distribution of electricity in France, aims to upgrade the grid and reduce the length of power cuts for each customer to the national average of 70 minutes per year per customer. Last year, the average time was 126 minutes. The Dordogne poses a particular challenge because of its size and its trees. It is the third largest and third most densely forested department in France and a quarter of the mediumvoltage lines are situated in woodland. There are 11 customers per kilometre of grid, compared to 27 nationally. This means it is one of the most difficult and expensive areas in the country for distributing electricity. The Dordogne direcM tor of ERDF, Eric Mariaud, said: “Luckily, we are still a public service, which means that
we can put extra money into the Dordogne which wouldn’t be worthwhile if we were solely a commercial organisation. “Every customer in the country pays a fixed sum towards distribution, but in the Dordogne the amount spent per customer is €68 and that will increase to €95 over the next five years, compared to €40 on average nationally.” The work will include laying underground cables in wooded areas, modernising and repairing overhead lines, improving the system so that a power cut will affect the smallest part of the grid possible and maintaining the areas through which lines go – for example cutting overhead branches. Mr Mariaud said: “If all the electricity cables in the Dordogne were laid end-toend, they would go more than half way round the world. That is the challenge we face. “We have put in extra resources since 2007, but now we are going to put in much more. By 2017, the service will match the rest of France.”
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