Cutting in is now allowed in France. And in Luxembourg?

A decree issued by the French Ministry of the Interior on 9 January 2025 now allows weaving between vehicles throughout the country. This change was preceded by several successive tests in different departments.

What is weaving?

According to the French Ministry, weaving involves a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle moving between vehicles that are stationary or moving very slowly in the two left-hand lanes of a motorway or expressway. The two- or three-wheeled vehicles must not exceed a maximum speed of 50 kilometres per hour. However, the difference to stationary or slow traffic must not exceed 30 kilometres per hour. Weaving is only allowed in dense traffic.

And in Luxembourg?

In Luxembourg, if a motorcyclist weaves between vehicles in a traffic jam, it is considered an overtaking manoeuvre on the right. The Grand Ducal Police impose a fine of 74 euros for this offence. However, this penalty does not seem to deter many motorcyclists from using this manoeuvre in traffic jams. Rather, weaving through the streets seems to have become a habit on our country’s roads.

Everyone has experienced inconsiderate motorcyclists who mistake the motorway for a MotoGP racetrack and weave at high speed between stationary vehicles. They endanger not only their own lives but also those of other road users.

Others, on the other hand, pay attention to their speed when weaving and do not take any unnecessary risks by stopping if necessary. But there are also motorcyclists who wait behind stationary vehicles and expose themselves to the danger of being run over by following cars or lorries or suffering a heat stroke in summer.

In the past, there have been numerous requests from motorcyclists, for example in the form of petitions, and also from organisations such as the ACL, to allow them to weave in and out between vehicles. The Luxembourg government has so far strongly opposed this practice – as in Germany. It justifies this by saying that emergency lanes must always be kept clear.

In practice, this does not work as expected. Some drivers stop in the middle of their lane and then have trouble moving aside (more so than a two-wheeler, by the way) when an emergency vehicle urgently needs to pass. Others, on the other hand, have understood that it is in the interest of all road users to share the limited space and move their vehicle towards the crash barrier before all traffic comes to a standstill.

Following the legalisation of driving between vehicles on French motorways, this practice is bound to become more widespread in Luxembourg, particularly on the A3 and A4 motorways. French and other motorcyclists are hardly going to queue up again on the motorway just to make the traffic jam worse. We’ll have to wait and see how things develop when the weather improves.

However, the question arises as to whether, in view of the facts, it is not time to adapt the legislation to reality, instead of sitting idly by. The French decree has the advantage that it allows vehicles to merge within a defined safety framework and thus helps to relieve traffic for everyone.