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Road safety
Lower street lighting: tips to make yourself visible!
Publié le 19 janvier 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Faced with the reduction of public lighting in the communes for the purpose of energy sobriety, Road Safety assists users to make themselves more visible. Pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, here are the tips for moving around safely at night!
A number of French municipalities have chosen to reduce their public lighting during all or part of the night, with the aim of achieving energy sobriety.
Road Safety is supporting this movement with a national information campaign from January 7 to 25, 2023, to raise public awareness of good safety habits to be more visible. His message: “When the lighting drops, I increase my vigilance, I increase my visibility.”
Learn about these tips and the traffic laws that apply to travel.
Wear reflective clothing or accessories
Road Safety advises wearing clear clothing or reflective devices such as vests, armbands, gloves, backpacks, etc., which are very effective for being seen from afar.
Please note
- On bicycles, the high visibility vest (yellow, orange, green) is mandatory outside built-up areas at night or when visibility is insufficient.
- On scooters, the retro-reflective vest is obligatory at night or during the day in case of insufficient visibility.
FYI
Dressed in black, you are visible only 28 meters away in the headlights of a vehicle. At 50 km/h, a car needs a minimum of 25 meters to stop (on dry ground, and 38 meters on wet ground). If you wear reflective accessories, you are visible 150 meters away!
Make sure you have all the required equipment
Some equipment promoting visibility are mandatory, you must absolutely verify that they are on your bike or scooter and that they work:
- Bicycles: your bicycle must be equipped with red reflex reflectors at the rear, orange at the pedals and visible laterally, and a white light at the front;
- Scooters: they shall have a white light at the front, a red light at the rear and rear and side retro-reflectors.
Reminder
Check with the Service-Public.fr if you have all mandatory equipment on your bike and the rules if you are traveling in electric scooter, rollerblades or skateboard.
Vigilance is required
The watchword for road safety is vigilance, but also the basic rules for road users: respect speed limits, avoid distractors and be particularly careful in certain situations.
- When you cross: if you cross at night, you must double your vigilance. If you are walking on a road, always position yourself on the left side of the road to see the vehicles coming in front. Before crossing: look left, right and again left.
- Do not stay in blind spots, especially those of large vehicles.
- When changing direction: Bike or scooter, extend your arm upstream to indicate to other users the direction you are going. Ideally, you will be equipped with a reflective armband.
Discover the Road Safety Campaign.
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