This new road sign is often misunderstood by motorists who risk a hefty fine if they do not respect it.
In the series of signs “I passed by, but I didn’t understand what it meant”, a new sign that has recently arrived on the roads of France occupies a special place. Experimented for the first time two years ago, in the Foix tunnel, in the Occitanie region, this square panel on a gray background, surrounded by a yellow border, is quite busy, probably a little too much.
It actually includes three elements. First a tunnel drawn in its upper part. Then, below, the inscription “Check your safety distance”. Finally, at the bottom, a diagram with two cars following each other completes the system. At first glance, the meaning seems quite simple: the sign warns that it is necessary to respect safety distances when traveling in this tunnel. But one detail should catch your attention. A dotted line separates the two cars with a sort of small blue “sun” at each end.
This element may seem trivial, however it is far from being the case. It is even he who gives the most important indication, the one which will prevent you from committing an offense by not respecting the correct safety distances and therefore exposing yourself to a large fine.
On a conventional road, the basic rule is to maintain a distance of at least two seconds from the vehicle in front of you. This allows enough time to react if the vehicle in front of you suddenly brakes. On motorways, where vehicle speeds can reach up to 130 km/h in France, it is recommended to leave more of a gap, materialized by 2 lines in the emergency lane, i.e. approximately 90 meters . Driving in a tunnel is no exception to the rule of distances to be respected between each vehicle.
But road safety has been looking for a way to help motorists find their way more easily in a dark tunnel. This is where we come back to our two mysterious little blue “suns”… These symbols on the sign actually invite the driver to identify the safety distances to be respected by leaning on the blue markers strewn all along of the tunnel. In the case of our sign, each driver must leave the distance between two light markers with the car in front.
It is therefore for him a landmark in his field of vision although it is placed, and this is a bit limited, on the side of the road. The same panel also exists with the diagram of a car followed by a truck. In this case, the safety distance is greater and there are two dotted lines and three “suns” which separate the two vehicles.
Responsible for numerous traffic accidents, failure to respect safety distances is punished quite harshly by the Highway Code. This is a fourth class offense, punishable by a fixed fine of 135 euros and the withdrawal of 3 points on the driving license.