This common practice on the road will be particularly supervised this summer.
This is a temporary solution but one that has the merit of clarifying one of the big questions of the summer on the roads. It was through a decree published on July 11 in the Official Journal that we learned of the extension of an experiment that began on August 2, 2021. Launched for three years, this test, which concerned 21 French departments, was therefore to be stopped on August 1. Road Safety has just announced its extension until September 15, pending a complete assessment of the experiment.
This full-scale test concerned inter-file traffic (known as CIF) for motorized two-wheelers and three-wheelers. It validated and authorized a common practice of many motorcyclists, that of going up between the lines and stopped vehicles, for example during a traffic jam or a sufficient slowdown. The eight departments of Ile-de-France were concerned, but also the Rhône with the Lyon metropolitan area, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Garonne, Gironde, Hérault, Isère, Loire-Atlantique, Nord or even Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Drôme, Vaucluse and Pyrénées-Orientales.
But be careful! While the decree published on July 11 extends the test on all roads already affected since 2021, it now adds an exception to remember this summer. Inter-file traffic will thus be suspended and therefore completely prohibited on certain roads in Île-de-France. These are the ones that will host the 185 kilometers of lanes reserved for vehicles accredited for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
These include well-known and busy routes around the capital. Examples include the A1 motorway between Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport and Porte de la Chapelle, the A4 between Collégien and Porte de Bercy, the A13 between Saint-Cloud and Rocquencourt, the northern ring road on its section between Porte de Vanves and Porte de Bercy, part of the A86 and the A104.
The reason given is that of the safety of two-wheelersThe Ministry of the Interior tells us that on these roads, “traffic will be very heavy” during the period with the “circulation of vehicles accredited to transport athletes, official delegations, emergency and security vehicles, taxis, ambulances or public transport (circulating as part of a public service mission) and accredited journalists.”
On all these roads, motorcyclists will no longer be allowed to go back up the queues. They will have to get used to it quickly since this ban has already been in effect since Monday, July 15 and until September 15. This date of September 15 is also important to remember for all road users since it marks the end of the experiment of inter-file traffic. While there is no guarantee that this test will not be extended or expanded once again, the start of the 2024 school year will be a turning point with the results of the experiment. The Ministry of the Interior could thus conversely signal the end of inter-file traffic on our roads. And the return of fines?