France – Reposted from our previous publication on the subject on Right To Ride EU.
Straight from the website of the French Riders Group – FFMC – regarding the end of their government plans for riders to wear hi-viz sees the proposal watered down and transposed into law for riders to carry a hi-viz vest on/in their motorcycle and other vehicles – three-wheeled motorized or non bodywork motor quadricycle.
The hi-viz should have a CE mark certifying it meets regulations – however we assume that if as a visiting rider to France you will be required to carry hi-viz equipment that meets requirements to – emit direct or reflected visible radiation having a luminous intensity and appropriate photometric and colorimetric properties.
There you go – let us know if you find one?
Yellow jacket for motorized two-wheel
Original source – FFMC – Click Here – Via Google Translate
A decree published Sunday, May 10, 2015, extends to bikers the obligation to hold a high visibility vest as of January 1, 2016.
What exactly are the new regulations? To whom is it directed? What are the penalties?
Update on the announcement that panicked the motorcycling community …
3 obligations
The decree actually contains three obligations:
The requirement to hold:
- Every driver of a motorized two-wheelers, motorized three-wheelers or motor quadricycle without fairing shall have a high visibility vest on them or in a storage of the vehicle.
The obligation to take:
- The vest must be worn if the driver has to leave their stranded vehicle on the roadway or its surroundings, after an emergency stop.
The requirement to submit the vest:
- If at a police traffic stop, the driver will be required to justify to the police or gendarmerie, that they actually have a high visibility vest.
Fines but no withdrawal of licence points
The failure to have a high visibility vest is punished with a fine first-class – €11. This will increase to €135 in case of non-use in emergency situations.
The offender will not incur any withdrawal of licence points.
A vest in a broad sense
According to the decree of 29 September 2008, “any garment worn on the upper body, such as jacket, parka, vest, shirt or tunic.” is considered a vest.
It would appear that a simple retro-reflective armbandis therefore not sufficient to meet the requirement to hold a vest.
The equipment selected should have a CE mark certifying that it has “one or more judiciously placed devices or appliances emitting direct or reflected visible radiation of appropriate luminous intensity and photometric and colorimetric properties.“
No mandatory traffic vest
Contrary to a rumor that a vest must be worn at all times whilst riding, the decree measure contains only the obligation to keep and bear a vest in case of emergencies.
A measure that does not always respond to the causes of road accidents
In the end, for the FFMC, the measure, introduced last January 26 by the Minister of the Interior in response to the increasing number of road accidents, will have no effect on road safety, since the proportion of riders injured with their two-wheelers while they are on the side of the road is extremely low compared to all motorcycle injuries.
The Federation fears the contrary, that this new obligation will place greater danger when the biker will have to, on the side of the road, get out of his vehicle and raise the saddle to grab his jacket.
References:
Article R416-19 – Decree No 2015-514 of 7 May 2015 concerning high visibility vest – Link – Via Google Translate
Original source – FFMC – Click Here – Via Google Translate
Information
Hi Viz Survey – Here’s Looking At You – October 2014 pdf – 1.26mb
Leave a Reply