Already tested elsewhere, a thick red line drawn on the road has arrived in France and the fine is steep for motorists who do not respect it.
Will red soon become the fashionable color on French roads? Some European countries, including Spain, have for some time now decided to break the codes, substituting white, the traditional color of road markings, for red. In Andalusia, the test was carried out on the A-355, near Malaga, where a thick red strip separates the lanes for almost five kilometers. It didn’t take long for road safety to take inspiration in France since this unique road marking has already arrived on our roads!
Many motorists were surprised to recently discover a large red stripe in the middle of the A7 motorway, near Vienne in the Rhône valley, and the A10 towards Bordeaux. This line, drawn over a few kilometers, instantly attracts the attention of drivers, and that is the objective of this new marking. The red stripe was painted in more accident-prone areas, often on a section of winding road with little visibility. It should encourage motorists to reduce their speed and be extra vigilant.
But as the white line continues, the red line signals above all the formal prohibition of overtaking another vehicle. Although there are still a large number of them who have never seen it, the French have every interest in quickly learning the meaning of this thick colored band. Because crossing the red line to overtake is severely punished by a fine of 135 euros accompanied by the loss of 3 points on the driving license. It’s a little less severe than in Spain, where the offender must pay 200 euros and risks having their driving license suspended for three months, but it’s still expensive!
These experiments on the A7 and the A10 are undoubtedly intended to produce small ones. We can legitimately imagine that this new system will extend to many roads in France if it proves itself. This is the case in certain countries such as the Netherlands where this road marking has reduced the number of accidents. We will therefore have to get used to driving on red lines, or rather to not driving on them.
