A recent decree requires a change of rules to users of bicycles and scooters. But it has passed so discreetly that many ignore their new obligations.
It is a decree entered into force at the end of November 2024 and passed somewhat unnoticed, certainly overshadowed by the political agitation which reigned at the time in the country (and which has not really calmed down since). However, this text has some very concrete consequences on everyday life of millions of people, since it modifies the highway code, and in particular certain rules relating to bikes and electric scooters.
These two modes of transport have become very popular in recent years, especially among the inhabitants of city centers and peri-urban areas, who see it as a convenient and economical means of moving. The phenomenon also takes so much magnitude that new problems of sharing road space appear, with sometimes dramatic outcome, such as the death of a young cyclist of 27 years on October 15, 2024 in Paris, a priori voluntarily overthrown by a motorist.
To adapt to these new modes of transport, the law and the regulations are constantly evolving, in order to offer the most secure framework possible to all road users. This is the subject of Decree n ° 2024-1074 of November 27, 2024which comes to modify and specify Several articles of the highway code Relative to “motorized personal movement devices and cycles”. This formulation brings together in particular (but not exclusively) electric scooters and bikes, whether “classic” or electric assistance (VAE).
The changes made by the decree more specifically relate to the signaling and lighting devices which must be provided with motorized personal transport devices and cycles. All these vehicles already had the obligation to be equipped with a rear, non -dazzling, red and visible color position when the vehicle is mounted. The novelty is that This rear position fire should not now be flashing. On the other hand, the driver can carry this rear light on him, in his back, as long as he respects the previous rules.
Another modification, which this time makes a softening: bikes and electric scooters must normally be equipped with “orange catadiopters visible laterally”, that is to say small reflective orange plates. The Highway Code now provides that this obligation does not apply if “the tires are provided with retroreflecting devices”, as is often the case on bikes, which have orange catadiopters fixed on the shelves of the wheels.
The decree brings other small developments to the margin, such as the possibility of fixing, on the vehicle or on oneself, a stop fire (which is triggered when activating the main braking) or steering indicators (indicators). Finally, non-compliance with these new rules is considered to be a first class ticket, and punished by a flat-rate fine of 11 euros. So not very dissuasive.