Bikers traveling on the urban highways around Marseille, or on the expressways around Avignon will be able to take a breather. While the experiment with inter-lane two-wheeler traffic was due to end on December 31, 2024, the practice will ultimately remain legal. A decree extends this inter-line circulation until July 31, 2025.
Since August 2021, inter-lane traffic has been officially authorized, as part of an experiment on motorways and expressways. It concerns a handful of departments, including Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, Var and Alpes-Maritimes, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Very precise rules for inter-lining
Concretely, motorcyclists and other two-wheel drivers can circulate between the lines on axes with two carriageways separated by a central reservation, and equipped with “at least two lanes each“, where the speed limit is “greater than or equal to 70 km/h“.
Another criterion to take into account: inter-line traffic is only authorized when road traffic is dense, with “uninterrupted lines on all lanes”. Rules are set by a decree, such as the obligation “to warn other users“, or the ban on driving at more than 30 km/h that “vehicles traveling in the two leftmost lanes“.
“It's good to have a legal framework to practice itestimates Emmanuel, a Marseille biker asked about the interest of the experiment. We are still in a country where there is more often repression than prevention towards bikers.“
-“If we ride a motorbike, it’s to save time”
However, he remains mixed on the conditions. “If we ride a motorbike, it's for practicality, to save time. The main danger when splitting in line is motorists who change lanes without turning on their turn signal, or who are distracted by their phone. We should rather take care of that.“
Motorcyclists who ride in the inter-lane cannot do so at more than 50 km/h. They are also prohibited from overtaking another vehicle in their category that is traveling in inter-files. Failure to comply with these conditions results in points being withdrawn and a fine ranging from 35 to 135 euros, depending on the offense.
However, this is the last time that the experiment with inter-line traffic should be extended, since the initial decree fixed its duration for three years, “extendable for up to one year“. Nothing says that it will be definitively legalized afterwards.
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