Nine Amendments Introduced to the Highway Code

Today, on 28 March 2018, Luxembourg Minister of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure François Bausch presented nine amendments to the Highway Code in favour of active mobility.

The Highway Code currently defines rules whose primary purpose is to protect cyclists and pedestrians from motorised traffic. For the rest, cyclists must comply with the same rules as motorised vehicles. There are currently few provisions facilitating or promoting the practice of cycling taking into account certain characteristics intrinsic to this type of road user and which clearly distinguish it from motorised vehicles.

A study was therefore conducted by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure to study the rules and laws specific to cyclists and pedestrians in eight European countries (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Spain and Switzerland) . On the basis of the results of this "best practice", the relevant regulations for application in the Luxembourg legislation were retained. They are based on their use in Europe, feedback on the measures in question and their compatibility with Luxembourg.

Nine measures were adopted and the resulting amendments to the Highway Traffic Act were developed: the creation of the possibility of providing continuous footpaths at intersections; the accuracy of a lateral distance of 1.5 m when passing between a bicycle and a motorised vehicle; wider possibilities for cyclists to ride side by side (maximum 2 bikes); the creation of the possibility of limiting the obligation to borrow a cycling infrastructure; the definition of the possibility of allowing bicycles to continue on an intersection governed by traffic lights, in cases where the cyclist's path does not conflict with the flow of motorised traffic; the adaptation of provisions for the circulation of children on the footpath (allowed up to 12 years instead of 10); the definition of the principle of a "cycle street"; the creation of a signalling system making it easier to signal dead ends with exceptions for pedestrians or bicycles; the adaptation of the compulsory equipment of bicycles.

These amendments will come into effect on 1 May 2018