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Paris – a city where levels of cycling have exploded in recent years thanks to the policy of the French capital’s mayor – is getting kickback on social media after cyclists riding through the city were stopped this week and advised to don reflective clothing to make themselves visible to drivers ahead of the clocks going back tonight.
The City of Lights has quite rightly become the poster child of how to encourage more people to travel by active means, whether that be by bike or by foot, with Mayor Anna Hidalgo implementing an ambitious plan of protected cycleways across the centre, as well as removing motor traffic from the banks of the Seine to create riverside parks in what is one of the world’s most iconic cities.
No-one who has become familiar with the city over the past couple of decades and returned there in the last year or two can fail to have noticed the transformation, with two wheels now the transport of choice for many Parisians as streets including the Rue de Rivoli have had protected cycle lanes installed and restrictions placed on motor vehicles.
And to anyone who cycles in a British city – London, or Edinburgh, for example – helmets and hi-viz or reflective clothing are noticeable through their absence; it is the very model of people riding bikes in everyday clothes to which the recently established Active Travel England, headed by Chris Boardman, aspires.
This week, however, Twitter account American Fietser shared a video from broadcaster BFM showing city hall officials and police stopping cyclists and telling them they should wear reflective clothing to make themselves seen to motorists as the nights darken.
What is this ridiculous badgering?
Pushing people on bikes in Paris to wear hi-vis apparel? The answer isn’t in the clothing, but rather in your infrastructure design. https://t.co/JUyhu9XbiK
— American Fietser (@AmericanFietser) October 28, 2022
Fellow Twitter user Felicity Foster pointed out that according to the French version of the Highway Code, hi-viz clothing is only required outside built-up areas.
The police like to tell us that hi vis is required but their own law says it is only obligatory “hors agglomeration” so outside city/village limits at night or in low visibility. Ridiculous, right?https://t.co/PeFZRkiJor
— Felicity Foster (@felicity_foster) October 28, 2022
The rationale behind the initiative is apparently based on research which found that after 5pm in the weeks following the clocks going back, there is a 42 per cent rise in the number of collisions involving cyclists and motor vehicles.
(The comparable figures for the number of crashes for the hours after 6pm before the clocks go back, and 7pm after they do, was not reported).
Moreover, according to the city authorities, a cyclist dressed in black during the hours of darkness is only visible to a motorist from a distance of 25 metres, compared to 125 metres for one dressed in reflective clothing.
Assuming the driver isn’t distracted by WhatsApp or Facebook, some might say.
Twitter user Commute de Paris, who has charted the rise of cycling in the city, said: “Wearing a hi-viz vest isn’t obligatory for cyclists in a built-up area, it’s a recommendation. On the other hand, it actually is an obligation for hunters.”
I didn’t realize France actually had fashion police. pic.twitter.com/oz2eNGaLXE
— Ticonderoga (@TiconderogaNo1) October 28, 2022
Our favourite response, though, came from Twitter user Ticonderoga.
I didn’t realize France actually had fashion police. pic.twitter.com/oz2eNGaLXE
— Ticonderoga (@TiconderogaNo1) October 28, 2022
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