They have been tested for years in Strasbourg. And yet, they are only now arriving on the roads of France and Navarre: two new traffic lights have just come into force in France, informs France Info on its site. It is a mixed pedestrian-cyclist light as well as a countdown, as explained by the French administration in its recent press release on Road Safety. The decree which allows their development was taken, it should be remembered, on June 13th.
In fact, these two signaling tools do not meet the same needs. “The mixed pedestrian-cycle light may be used when a cycle path is parallel to a pedestrian crossing at the level of the crossing of a lane.”, can we read on the press release. “This light incorporates a red or green bicycle visual like the ‘red man’ or ‘green man’ to indicate to cyclists that they must respect the pedestrian light. It makes it possible to clarify the rules for crossing cyclists on this type of configuration”, continue the authorities.
The countdown, for its part, aims to inform pedestrians much more than motorists. “This signaling indicates the waiting time before being able to cross the pedestrian crossing then the time allowed to cross the pedestrian crossing”, specifies the administration.
Be careful, however: it is not because such devices have now come into force that you will see them mechanically on the roads. They are offered to road managers, who decide whether or not to put them in place, points out The Huffington Post. You can find the visual of these traffic lights in the Road Safety press release.
