PARIS is to become one of the first major capital cities in the world to officially allow cyclists to ride through red lights.

    The radical measure, which is intended to cut down on accidents, will be studied by city and town planners in numerous other countries outside France, including Britain.

    At the moment, thousands of cyclists in cities like Paris and London regularly break red lights, but risk fines for doing so.

    Councilors in the French capital have voted to adopt the measure following a three-year campaign by cycle associations.

    It will allow those on bicycles to turn right or go straight ahead, even when a traffic light is on red.

    But they will have to give way to pedestrians, and traffic coming from the left. Crucially, they will also be held responsible if there is an accident.

    Tests on the potentially chaotic measure will start on around 15 crossroads over the next few weeks, before the scheme is fully implemented, so as to cover up to 1,700 Paris crossroads.

    Red and yellow signposts posted on traffic light poles will inform cyclists that they can ignore the lights in designated 30-km-per-hour zones.

    The official justification for the new rule reads: “Experience shows that adding specific traffic lights for cyclists can create confusion for motorists.”

    The measure is also being tested in the cities of Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Nantes, where Paris city hall has noted there have been “no rise in the number of accidents.”

    Paris has a Velib bike hire scheme which means thousands of amateur cyclists regularly fill the streets.

    There have been a number of deaths and serious injuries, with police often blaming the most serious accidents on bikes competing with heavy vehicles at traffic lights.

    Cyclists can be crushed in blind spots by lorries turning. Bicycles failing to accelerate away as fast as motorized vehicles are also a cause of constant problems.

    Opposition to the regulations have come from numerous road safety bodies, with Paris councilor Laurence Douvin saying: “If pedestrians, cyclists, motorbike users and car drivers don’t respect each other, the introduction of these practices could increase the risks in Paris.”

    (SD-Agencies)