Does not count as a file
We’ve all come to think it’s normal: motorcyclists who stand at the front of the line at a red traffic light. However, this is not allowed, the judge ruled.
The lawsuit was conducted following an incident in 2019, when a motorcyclist in Goes was fined 240 euros by rolling forward along the queue at the traffic light. The criminal offense: ‘not following the direction indicated by the lane at an intersection’. The motorcyclist therefore drove straight ahead on the left side of the row. According to the court ruling, that is part of the problem, but not the main part.
The court does not agree with the motorcyclist’s claim that this involved ‘driving through a traffic jam’, a practice that is tolerated in the Netherlands. According to the judge, this behavior is only not punishable if there is actually a traffic jam on a motorway. A queue of cars waiting at a traffic light at an intersection is therefore not included. The fine therefore remains in force and motorcyclists must simply connect to the back at traffic lights.
Tolerating motorcyclists who drive between or past stationary cars has everything to do with safety, according to the ‘Filegedragscode’ of the Motor Platform Foundation. Standing on a motorcycle behind a row of cars would unnecessarily expose the motorcyclist to the danger of inattentive motorists following behind, with all possible (nasty) consequences.
Opponents of the practice could argue that it is sufficient to drive just beyond the tail end of the traffic jam, instead of all the way to the front. What do you think: ‘are’ motorcyclists ‘allowed’ to go through traffic jams, or not? And should that also be possible at traffic lights? Have your say in the comments!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl