Last weekend the French were "invited" by their government to drive with their lights on in the daytime, except in towns. ("Invite" in France means "Please do this." Once during a bomb scare at Charles de Gaulle Airport I was invited to leave the terminal immediately.) It is a safety measure that has been proven to lead to fewer accidents. If the experiment is successful in reducing accidents, daytime lights will become obligatory in five months. But nothing is simple in France. There have already been several angry demonstrations against this safety rule by the motards. They fear being lost in the stream of headlights.
Motard means motorcyclist. In France they drive with their headlights on, are missed by speed radars since they have no front license-plates, and go at high speed between lanes. If you drive in the fast lane, they are always coming up on your blind side and will wave you over and even thump on or kick your car if you don't move to the left. Not surprisingly, you see a lot of dead motards in France. I recently learned that it is actually illegal for motorcycles to go between lanes of cars. One of the many French laws that are really "laws."
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