n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France.

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Wed 11 Sep 2019 16:51
n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France. - focussed

Having done the pedestrians - v - motorists - v - cyclists subject to death on another thread I thought it worth a reminder to those who venture into or across France.

Firstly, the rule in the UK is that it is permissible to cross or straddle a solid white line to overtake a slow moving vehicle travelling at 10 mph or less.

Forget that rule in France - it's different, and being France, it's complicated!

Firstly, the rule in France is that it is not permitted to cross, straddle or run your wheel on a solid white line except in some special circumstances:-

The Highway Traffic Act makes a difference between the overlap of a continuous white line and its crossing.

If you ride a continuous line ( LH wheel on the line) : a few centimeters or almost the entire vehicle, the penalty will be the same. If the overlap involves a relatively long distance, the police officer may consider that a crossing has occurred. For a limited overlap of the continuous white line, the sanction is a fine of 135 € and the withdrawal of a point on the permit .

If you cross the continuous line : The police consider that a crossing has occurred when the entire vehicle is traveling on the opposite side of the carriageway separated by a continuous white line. In this case, the fine is always 135 €, but 3 points are withdrawn instead of one for the overlap .

For crossing or overlapping, the fine may be reduced to 90 € in case of quick payment. It will instead be increased to 375 € in case of late payment.

When can I cross a blank line?

You can cross a continuous line:

to overtake a cyclist (but only on a two-way road whose speed is limited to 50 km / h ). This provision only applies, however, when visibility is sufficient.

to avoid an obstacle like a rock

to overtake an animal

to overtake a rider ( Horse rider?)

to bypass a construction site

Overlapping or crossing the white line, however, remains prohibited when it comes to overtaking a slow vehicle , a bus or a truck to pick up garbage because their stops are temporary.

There you are - I said it was complicated!

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Wed 11 Sep 2019 17:09
n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France. - Vitesse6

Complicated but useful! although I dare say the average french motorist will just give one of those shrugs and do what they please anyhow.

Earlier this year we got to our French house to find the village newsletter informing us there was now a 400 euro fine for burning garden waste. Our neighbour had burnt all mine over the winter so I asked him about the new rules. 'Yes' he said 'but I am a friend of the mayor so it doesn't matter'

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Wed 11 Sep 2019 18:14
n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France. - Theophilus

Thanks focussed - your post has come at an opportune time as my wife & I were discussing this situation yesterday when I crossed a solid white line to give wide clearance to a cyclist.

It doesn't seem to include the all-too-common scenario of following a very slow moving tractor or other agricultural vehicle which can go on and on for long distances :-)

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Wed 11 Sep 2019 19:25
n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France. - focussed

Oh yes the bonfire question - we had a situation this year where we needed to dispose of the pine processionary caterpillars that we had trapped, The usual method is to burn the d*mn things - but no bonfires allowed. So we asked the mayor's office if they would they accept them for disposal as we can't officially have a fire. No reply! I guessed that was a no then!

So we bought an incinerator - the dustbin type with holes in it - that's ok according to the rules, because it's not a bonfire ! So they went into that with a hot fire under them.

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Wed 11 Sep 2019 19:35
n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France. - focussed

Complicated but useful! although I dare say the average french motorist will just give one of those shrugs and do what they please anyhow.

Earlier this year we got to our French house to find the village newsletter informing us there was now a 400 euro fine for burning garden waste. Our neighbour had burnt all mine over the winter so I asked him about the new rules. 'Yes' he said 'but I am a friend of the mayor so it doesn't matter'

And don't forget the French stop line cash machine €135 fine + possible 3 years licence suspension - you have to stop moving, handbrake on, look left + right and then go if safe etc. The average french motorist does what you have said!

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Thu 12 Sep 2019 14:31
n/a - Overtaking over solid white lines in France. - Bilboman

It's a bit simpler in Spain, where the highway code allows drivers to cross the solid white line(s) (provided it is safe to do so) in 5 situations:
1. to overtake a cyclist or group of cyclists, leaving a minimum of 1.5m clearance. In this case the driver MUST cross the white line if s/he needs to do so to give 1.5m clearance.
2. to pass a broken down vehicle in your lane.
3. to overtake a scooter or motorbike - here the safety margin must be at least 1.5m and in proportion to the speed of the motorbike and the road width, surface, etc. (i.e. common sense applies!)
4. to pass pedestrians, animals or animal-drawn vehicles; same rules as in 3.
5. to avoid an obstacle.
Although not specifically mentioned in the rubric, it must be assumed that it's OK to cross the line where road markings, contraflow cones etc. are in place or if a uniformed police officer directs you to do so, as in the UK. One interesting aspect is that on a highway (i.e. outside an urban area but NOT on a dual carriageway or motorway) it is permitted to exceed the legal speed limit by up to 20 km/h in order to overtake safely in the situations above.

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