What the law says when cyclists break the rules<\/p>\n
\n Cyclists in France are subject to fines when exceeding speed limits
\n Gautier Normand\/Shutterstock.\n <\/p>\n
Cyclists, just like motorists and motorcyclists, can be fined for exceeding speed limits, travelling in the wrong direction, failing to comply with safety regulations, and cycling under the influence.<\/p>\n
It is common to see cyclists speeding, going through red lights, or riding the wrong way down a street. However, cyclists must follow the same rules as motorists and can be fined if they fail to do so.<\/p>\n
What is more, it is even more dangerous for cyclists to break these rules, as according to S\u00e9curit\u00e9 Routi\u00e8re, the risk of injury is eight times higher on a bicycle than in a car and 20 times higher than on foot.<\/p>\n
Additionally, cyclist fatalities and serious injuries increased in 2025, with cyclists among the categories most affected by rising road deaths and injuries.<\/p>\n
For a cyclist speeding the fine is set at \u20ac35. According to Article R413-16, \u201cany driver of a vehicle other than a motor vehicle who contravenes the provisions of this code relating to the maximum authorised speed is liable to the fine prescribed for second-class offences.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the Highway Code also states that in cases of inappropriate speed, meaning the cyclist may be respecting the speed limit but is deliberately ignoring a risk, such as weaving through pedestrians, the fine rises to \u20ac135.<\/p>\n
Cyclists can also face fines for other traffic offences. Running a red light or using a mobile phone while riding can result in a \u20ac135 fine. Cycling with a blood alcohol concentration between 0.5g\/L and 0.8g\/L can also lead to a \u20ac135 penalty, while levels above 0.8g\/L are considered a more serious offence and can result in heavier penalties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While fines do exist, cyclists do not have points deducted from their driving licence for speeding offences, should they hold one. However, in the event of a serious offence, such as cycling under the influence of alcohol and putting other people\u2019s lives at risk, a judge could suspend their driving licence.<\/p>\n
Note that in shared spaces cyclists must not travel faster than 20km\/h, while in pedestrian areas they must ride at walking pace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What the law says when cyclists break the rules Cyclists in France are subject to fines when exceeding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-678331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}