FORUM

A few days ago, I was driving through the commercial centre near Carrefour when a cyclist towing a trailer containing 2 dogs rode at quite a high speed across a pedestrian crossing and was clearly very annoyed that I didn’t stop for him.

Firstly I had no opportunity to stop because of the speed he was going and secondly I was disinclined to because I considered him another road user.

Obviously whoever had right of way, my primary concern would be to avoid an accident but it got me wondering what the legal position is?

In the UK it is quite clear that cyclists must dismount and walk across (though most don’t) but the law may be different here.

Does anyone know what French law says on the subject?

The Code de la Route is here
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCo ... e=20171029

I did actually try, very briefly, to find an answer: so far as I can gather, people using pedestrian facilities have to go at the pace of pedestrians: but I wouldn’t swear to it on a stack of Codes de la Route.

martyn94 wrote:The Code de la Route is here
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCo ... e=20171029

I did actually try, very briefly, to find an answer: so far as I can gather, people using pedestrian facilities have to go at the pace of pedestrians: but I wouldn’t swear to it on a stack of Codes de la Route.

Martyn, you are a bitter disappointment to me, I assumed you would have thoroughly researched the answer. Or as a Papal Legate have divine insight (have you been censored or just being good?).

I found a similar question on a French forum which gave a number of definitive and conflicting answers, so I am still none the wiser.

Knowing the way these things often go, I suspect the culpability for any accident would depend on whether the cyclist was French or an incomer!

Allan wrote:

martyn94 wrote:The Code de la Route is here
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCo ... e=20171029

I did actually try, very briefly, to find an answer: so far as I can gather, people using pedestrian facilities have to go at the pace of pedestrians: but I wouldn’t swear to it on a stack of Codes de la Route.

Martyn, you are a bitter disappointment to me, I assumed you would have thoroughly researched the answer. Or as a Papal Legate have divine insight (have you been censored or just being good?).

I found a similar question on a French forum which gave a number of definitive and conflicting answers, so I am still none the wiser.

I normally get off my bike and walk at pedestrian crossings (which I believe is the rule in the UK, as you say), so I was not very motivated. The code de la route says various quite specific things about bikes, like they are meant to get 1m50 of clearance when passed outside towns, and 1m otherwise. Fat chance of that most of the time, though you probably get a few more cms more than white-van-man gives you in SE London. (And if a sixteen-wheeler artic only gives you 1m51 at 100-and-something kph, it can feel still very close on a windy day).

But who the hell pays any attention to pedestrian crossings round here anyway, whether as cars or bikes, apart from you or I? And does anyone ever get nicked for it, unless they actually kill someone?