France: Autoroute Companies Waking Up To Motorcycles

The autoroutes in France are excellent. There are quite a lot, and they are well maintained and safe, specially for motorcycles. Unfortunately, they are not free for bikes, but many gladly pay the high fee in order to safely get to a destination far away.

But apart from the price we have to pay, one of the biggest issues for motorcycles is that you need, at the many toll areas, to queue up at the manned tool booth. The unmanned, automatic, credit card or coin operated booths are for cars only. This means you get stuck behind caravans, trailers, mobile homes and folks who don't know better. In the splitting sun, heat, or wind and rain, you need to wait your turn. All new toll booths have special lanes for motorcycles, but there are only a few new ones.

The A13 autoroute, that links Paris with Caen (Normandy) has announced that they have equipped their toll booths with special motorcycle lanes. The private company that operates the autoroute (SAPN ) have invested €40,000 in a motorcycle lane at their toll booths. No more excessive waiting. To read the original article: http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/france-autoroute-companies-waking-up-to-motorcycles.htm