Fatal accident in Ain: what are the obligations of drivers and passengers on board coaches?

A 7-year-old child and an 18-year-old young man died in a bus accident in Ain on Friday November 6. The bus driver, aged 26, said he “dozed off” at the wheel. “It seems that he got up very early, but as part of a normal day,” said Louis-Xavier Thirode, prefect of Ain. Having left around 5:30 in the morning from Lyon, he "would have already made a tour before being on this route which joined Lyon to Bourg-en-Bresse". An investigation is underway. The first drug and alcohol tests carried out on the driver were negative.

If the exact causes of this tragedy are not yet known, this tragic accident raises questions more generally about safety on board coaches, these vehicles dedicated to transporting people over long distances mainly offering seats. In 2025, 191 injury accidents involved a coach, or 0.4% of all road accidents. Twenty-five people died and 356 were injured in these accidents, according to the annual road traffic injury accident (BAAC) databases. What safety rules apply to drivers and passengers?

No more than ten hours of driving per day

To reduce the risk of fatigue, it is prohibited for coach drivers to drive for more than four and a half hours without taking a 45-minute break, recalls the Ministry of Transport. Additionally, they cannot drive more than nine hours a day. This duration can be increased to ten hours twice a week. Weekly driving time is limited to 56 hours and 90 hours over two consecutive weeks.

Vehicles must be checked every six months in state-approved workshops. They must be equipped with several mandatory safety equipment. Among them, the immobilizer breathalyzer, the tachograph (a device comparable to a black box) and a first aid kit.

Since July 7, 2026, all new vehicles, both cars and coaches, must integrate an active attention monitoring system, that is to say a camera located behind the steering wheel which makes it possible to monitor the driver's inattention. This system emits an audible alert in the event of inattention. However, this obligation does not apply to older vehicles.

Seat belts required for passengers

Since 2015, all coaches must be equipped with seat belts, and passengers are required to use them. In case of non-compliance, the driver is not responsible. Passengers, on the other hand, can be fined.