Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

DRIVING

Seven French cities to test out yellow lights at pedestrian crossings

Several French cities will experiment with a 'yellow light' for pedestrians, in the hopes of increasing road safety.

Published: 28 April 2023 16:49 CEST

Seven French cities to test out yellow lights at pedestrian crossings

A road sign marking a pedestrians area. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

In the hopes of improving safety for pedestrians in cities across France, seven cities will experiment with adding a ‘yellow light’ signal to crossings.

The cities that will test out the new ‘caution’ traffic light are Metz, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg, Toulouse and Versailles.

Published in France’s statute book, the Journal Officiel, on Friday, the experiment will help to give pedestrians a better idea of the “clearance time” needed to cross the road before the light turns to red.

While intended to help with pedestrian safety, the goal will also be to better inform motorists of how long it takes people on foot to cross the road.

Motorists can lose up to six points on their licences for failure to give way to a pedestrian who is on a crossing, or a pedestrian at a crossing who clearly intends to cross.

READ MORE: Driving in France: What are the offences that cost you penalty points on your French licence?

The signal experiment will take two forms – in some places, the yellow light will appear as a steady traffic light, and in others, it will be flashing. When the yellow light appears – regardless of whether it is steady or blinking – pedestrians will not be able to enter the crossing, but those already attempting to cross the street will be able to finish doing so.

Ultimately, it is meant to help inform pedestrians already crossing the street that time is limited.

Some cities in France, like Strasbourg, Vannes, and Neuilly-sur-Seine, have already begun experimenting with other ‘warning’ or ‘caution’ road signs for pedestrians, including countdowns until the signal turns red.

READ MORE: Why you really do have to stop at the ‘Stop’ sign in France

In 2022, 484 pedestrians were killed in road accidents across France, according to the national observatory for road safety.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

Url copied to clipboard!