The police operation caught around one hundred motorcyclists explicitly ignoring the Highway Code, which forbids weaving through traffic in Luxembourg. Police officers sanctioned motorcyclists caught weaving, although the practice remains an everyday one.
The news garnered many reactions on RTL 5Minutes's comments section and Facebook page, as well as our own Facebook page. Many readers spoke out against the practice being illegal, citing other countries where it is allowed, but others also supported the police crackdown.
RTL 5Minutes contacted the president of the Luxembourg Road Safety Association, Paul Hammelmann, to ask him to weigh in on the topic.
Hammelmann's response was categorical, highlighting his full support for "integrally respecting the Highway Code". He added that this should apply to everyone using roads equally. Hammelmann dismissed the idea of giving a certain category of road-users a free pass, stating that if overtaking on the right-hand side is generally forbidden, why should motorcyclists be an exception?
RTL 5Minutes also queried Hammelmann on potential adaptations to the Highway Code, as the Luxembourgish government is contemplating making some changes. The government is awaiting the conclusions of a French pilot study in several departments, in which motorcyclists are allowed to weave in through traffic, albeit only in certain conditions. The study should be completed in 2020 and depending on the results, the government could support allowing motorcyclists to weave in between cars.
Hammelmann remained sceptical, by all accounts. He maintained he would not "make a scandal out of it" if the government approved of motorbike weaving in light of more important topics existing, but said he would honestly be surprised.
Hammelmann concluded by maintaining that motorcyclist fatalities remain part of an acute issue in Luxembourg, given that nine of the 36 deaths resulting from accidents in 2018 were motorcyclists.
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Road safety: Police punish 106 motorcyclists weaving between cars
