French motorcyclists protest ban on ‘weaving’ through traffic

Weaving their way… motorcyclists ride together on Paris's Champs-Elysee avenue 

Credit: AFP

More than 6,000 motorcyclists took over a chunk of the Paris motorway leading up to the Arc de Triomphe on Saturday to protest a reinstated ban on weaving between two lanes of cars.

“The defining characteristic of having a two-wheeled vehicle is that you can circulate between lanes,” Jean-Marc Belotti, the head of the French Federation of Angry Motorcyclists (FFMC) told French radio France Bleu. “If we’re forbidden to do that, there’s no point in having a motorcycle.” 

The FFMC organised Saturday’s protest, which gathered more than 14,700 motorcyclists in protests across France, according to figures from France’s Interior Ministry.  In Paris, motorcyclists lined up in tightly packed rows on the peripherique motorway that encompasses the city as they made their descent from the Arc de Triomphe to the Bois de Vincennes Park.

Weaving, the practice of motorcycles and scooters picking through slow moving traffic, is common in France, although it was officially prohibited until 2016.

Motorcyclists ride in groups on a Paris ring-road

Credit: AFP

That year, the French government temporarily lifted the ban in certain regions as part of a five-year experimental trial. Following “disappointing” results, the ban was reinstated on February 1. 

According to figures from France’s Interministerial Delegate for Road Safety, motorised two-wheeler accidents increased by 12% in regions where the experiment took place. Meanwhile, accidents decreased by 10% in other parts of the country. 

A report from the Centre for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Development  (Cerema) recorded 1,650 light motorcycle accidents , 161 serious accidents and 16 fatal accidents during the experiment. For fatal accidents, France’s road safety authority said drivers did not respect the experiment’s rules: to only weave between lanes during stop and go traffic, drive solely between the two leftmost lanes, and to not exceed a speed of 50km/h, even in areas where a higher speed is permitted. 

With the reinstatement of the ban, drivers who don’t remain in a single traffic lane once again risk fines of 135€ euros (£117) and up to three points off their driving licence record.  Jean-Marc Belotti of the FFMC defended the practice of weaving, insisting that it kept motorcyclists safe in traffic jams. 

“If you’re behind a car and it suddenly brakes, you can be rear-ended by another vehicle. It’s less likely to happen if you’re in between two lanes, and you have better visibility,” he said. 

Mr Belotti also warned the reinstated ban would lead to an increase in traffic jams. “Imagine the traffic if the 300,000 motorcyclists in Paris and its outer suburbs went back to driving cars.” 

To ensure public safety, the FFMC is calling for driving schools to include formal training on how to safely weave in between lanes as part of the official curriculum. 

France’s road safety authority has acknowledged the convenience and popularity of the practice. The government body has promised to launch a new experiment in the coming weeks that will test other options for motorcyclists, the details of which have not been made public yet.