Not always well understood by motorists, this sign nevertheless indicates a possible danger.
In response to the explosion in the use of bicycles as a means of transport in large cities in France, the Highway Code has evolved in recent years. Cohabitation between motorists and cyclists on the road is not always easy, and sometimes even difficult. To make it easier, road safety has developed a number of road signs. You see them more and more in the streets, but perhaps you too do not always fully understand their meaning.
This is especially true for those who got their driving license a few years ago. Understanding a new sign is often a guessing game, except that road safety is not a game. That is why it is important to understand symbols, including the less explicit ones. Among these, there is one that we encounter more and more often in the small streets of large cities, such as Paris, Lyon, Lille, Marseille and Strasbourg.
Its square shape should warn that it is an indication or information. On its blue background, bordered by a white border, is drawn a large white arrow in one direction and another white arrow in the other direction but this one is interspersed with a bicycle. When you pass in front, you must already understand that this is a one-way street but that this only concerns motorized vehicles. The driver who enters this street may have to follow a bicycle for several meters but may especially come across one or more in the opposite direction. Which should obviously push him to be extra vigilant.
Indeed, even if this two-way cycle sign is not triangular – the shape of those that warn of danger – the possibility of facing a person on a bike in a small street is not without consequences on the way in which one must adapt one’s speed and driving. Above all, in the event of a head-on collision, the consequences can be very serious for cyclists. Hence the interest in understanding this sign whose primary function is to reinforce their safety.