Traffic jam experiment in France is repeated

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Traffic jam experiment in France is repeated
FEMA

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traffic & business

Traffic jam experiment in France is repeated

Traffic jam experiment in France
Biker protests force repetition

After five years of running, an experiment in France to legalize traffic jams for motorcycles ended in January 2021. What was planned to support a change in the law resulted in the opposite: There were more accidents than before. After protests by over 20,000 bikers, the experiment is to be repeated.


Jens Kratschmar

04/07/2021

Since 2016, the so-called “Lane splitting”, so the traffic jam, tolerated. As a test, it was possible to open another for single-lane vehicles between the penultimate and last lane in slow traffic (less than 50 km / h) or in a traffic jam, which made it possible for motorbikes to drive between the slow or stationary cars. A maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour was then permitted for two-wheelers with sufficient distance from stationary or slow cars. The experiment ended on January 31, 2021 with a bad result.

12 percent more accidents

In total, 12 percent more accidents had to be recorded on the cleared roads for the test period than on the roads where the experiment was not carried out. Here the number of accidents fell by as much as ten percent. However, compared with accident data from previous years, the final study showed that 90 percent of these 1,650 accidents occurred in the prescribed split lane, but also always involved an unexpected lane change of a car. According to the study, the remaining accidents were caused by the inadequate speed of the two-wheelers. So the bottom line is all situations in which the regulations were not adhered to. The study organizers do not want to see a failure of the experiment.

20,000 bikers protest


Traffic jam experiment in France is repeated


FEMA

On February 20, the French motorcyclists’ association FFMC (Federation Française des Motards en Colère) called for a major protest: Over 20,000 bikers took to the streets with their motorcycles to protest against the final ban on lane splitting. With success: The Ministry of Transport is currently planning to repeat the experiment of driving through traffic jams on certain roads under new framework conditions. The results of the first study are not conclusive enough. The reason: more traffic.

More traffic dilutes the statistics

In the greater Paris area in particular, where the experiment was also carried out, the proportion of two-wheeler accidents during lane splitting rose from 13 in 2015 to 57 in 2018. From this point of view, an increase of 300 percent in four years. At the same time, the number of all other accidents involving two-wheelers rose from 310 to 480, i.e. by a good 54 percent, reflecting the sharp increase in traffic in the greater Paris area during this period.

And in Germany?

In Germany, driving through a traffic jam to the right of the extreme left lane is still considered impermissible overtaking; there are still too little side clearances in the emergency lane, which is usually not formed by drivers. Despite many Petitions there is no change in sight here. In the event of a violation, the only hope is that you will either not be caught or, if so, without fine to get away with it again.

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Conclusion

With a really close look, the result from France could destroy any chance of easing in Germany as well. But whether blatant peak values ​​like those in the traffic hell Paris should really be decisive is another matter. And the figures also show that when an accident happened, it was mostly the four-wheeler that was to blame. In matters “Overlooked motorcyclists” so everything stays the same. Pity.

But: if 20,000 bikers protest on the streets at the same time, it cannot be overlooked. After a protest in February, the experiment is to be repeated under adapted conditions. So there is hope.

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