Councilors in Paris, France approved a new rule that would allow bicyclists to run red lights.
A result of a three-year campaign by cyclists’ associations, the rule
comes after road safety experts deemed it a good measure to cut road
crashes.
The idea of allowing cyclists to run red lights to decrease road
crashes may seem ironic, but Paris municipal authorities believe that it
will be an important step in helping to ease bicycle congestion. “It
makes cycle traffic more fluid and avoids bunching up cyclists when the
traffic lights go green for motorists,” municipal authorities explained.
In the United States, the state of Virginia passed a similar law last July,
but most bike safety campaigns in the country have held the position
that bicyclists are safe on the road when they follow the same rules as
car drivers. Under normal circumstances, all road users carry the inherent trust that everyone will follow the rules,
MassBike explains. “Think about that next time you go through a green
light: you are putting your trust in hundreds of strangers every
day—trusting that they will not run through the red light and strike
you. When you violate that trust, the system breaks down.”
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| photo by Живые улицы / Live Streets |
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