In principle already in the trunk of any car since 2008, the yellow reflective vest will also have to find prominently in the top case s of motorcycles. Beginning this January 1 and under penalty of a 1st class ticket (17 Euros), moped users, scooters and motorcycles will, indeed, be holders of this equipment. They must wear it only during emergency stops. And in case of non-compliance, they will face a fine range, this time to 135 Euros.
This measure designed to make it more visible this category of user closes for now the long debates on this vest that bikers came close to having to take permanently wheelchair. The decision was even announced in 2011 during a committee on road safety (IRB) before a turnaround in 2012 under pressure from his many opponents … actually, almost majority of PTW users. “Motorists forget that one exists. Then they probably would not have seen we better with a permanent fluorescent held on the back, “said Marc Bertrand, in charge of Road Safety at the French Federation of Angry Bikers (FFMC). Satisfied with the abandonment of the previous provision, it remains unsatisfied with this new choice. “It is better convinced of the relevance of that measure to force it through sanctions, as has been decided,” he said.
Yet another mandatory provision will affect that category of users: they will soon have to wear approved gloves with reflective tape. In preparation for the Council of State decree is expected in the coming days. This new provision does not find more favor with the FFMC. “For years we are campaigning for the reduction of VAT on motorcycle equipment to facilitate their purchase. This is what is expected to better protect this category, “said Marc Bertrand. In 2014, among users of motorized two-wheelers, the road was 22,000 wounded and killed 790 people.
The case of “urban scooter”
If the bikers did not wait for the next issue of the decree to develop gloves, this is not always the case among the ‘urban scooter.” “They are former drivers who do not feel the soul of bikers!” To avoid traffic jams, many of them have indeed swapped four wheels for two-wheelers without changing the “dress code”. “They refuse to equipment that would protect them, but we must convince them to do it,” insists the responsible road safety association, which welcomes another measure: from 1 February as part of an experiment four years, the motorcycles in safety vest will be able to travel between two lines of cars under certain conditions in Île-de-France, Gironde and the Rhône. A practice is already widespread particularly on the Paris ring. But, as recognized, this mode of driving will be taught in driving schools.