Glossary

A vehicle without its own drive towed behind a car. With a category B licence the combination may be up to 3500 kg; above that BE or B96 is required. Outside built-up areas a lower maximum speed applies with a trailer than without.

An order given orally or by gestures by someone who is both authorised and recognisable as such: an authorised official, the Royal Marechaussee or a traffic controller. Instructions override traffic signs AND traffic rules — the highest rung the law knows.

Anti-lock braking: it keeps the wheels turning under hard braking so you can still steer. The pedal then pulsates — that is the system, not a fault, and you keep it pressed. ABS does not always shorten the braking distance; on gravel or loose sand it can be longer.

Driving backwards. A special manoeuvre: all other traffic goes first, and your rearward view is by definition limited.

A speed on a blue rectangular sign, usually in a bend. It is not a legal maximum and carries no fine, but it is set for wet conditions and an average car — going faster is a choice you answer for yourself.

Anything that takes attention from the road. Holding a phone while driving is prohibited — also on a bicycle and also while stopped at a red light, because you are still the driver. Hands-free is allowed, but a call costs attention either way.

The road by which you leave the motorway. You brake on the deceleration lane, not on the through carriageway.

Changing direction at a junction. Turning right you mainly watch cyclists to your right; turning left you let oncoming traffic go first.

Leaving enough room to the vehicle ahead to be able to stop. The law names no number of metres; the measure is whether you can stop within the stretch you can see.

All indicators at once. Meant to warn others of danger: when broken down, when approaching a jam, or at an accident. Not meant to make illegal stopping acceptable.

A breath test linked to the ignition: above the set value the engine will not start. In the Netherlands the mandatory programme ended after a 2015 ruling of the Council of State; the device still appears as a voluntary or foreign measure.

A priority vehicle with blue flashing light and siren. You make room, but not at others’ expense: running a red light or mounting the pavement to make way remains an offence and creates danger.

General Periodic Inspection. Petrol and electric first at 4 years, diesel and gas at 3; thereafter on schedule. Age counts from the date of first admission.

The tyre loses contact with the road because a layer of water comes between them. Steering and braking then have no effect. Easing off and holding straight is the only thing that helps.

Driver and passengers use the available belt. Anyone under 18 AND shorter than 1.35 m belongs in an approved child restraint.

A road beginning at sign G1 and ending at G2. By law 130 km/h applies here under art. 21, but almost the entire network is signed 100 during the day — and the sign overrides the default.

A road between signs G3 and G4. The default speed is 100 km/h. An expressway does not always have separated carriageways and may have level junctions — which is where it differs fundamentally from a motorway.

The grooves in the tread. Legal minimum 1.6 mm in the main grooves, over the entire circumference, wear indicators not counted.

The pressure in the tyres. Too low makes the car unsettled in bends, lengthens the braking distance, raises consumption and wears the tyre at the edges. Check it on cold tyres.

The whole of the signs along a road. A sign works from where it stands; miss it and it still applies. Repetition after a junction is customary but not always required.

The area between sign H1 and sign H2. The boundary is legal, not visual: it starts and ends at the sign, not where the houses stop. Inside it, 50 km/h is the default for motor vehicles.

A motor vehicle for carrying goods. Below 3500 kg the rules of a car apply; above it those of a truck.

A pass listing your coaches, issued by the RDW to anyone obtaining a category B licence at seventeen. Without the pass you may not drive until you turn eighteen.

Anyone still in the novice period is subject to an alcohol limit of 0.2 instead of 0.5 per mille. That period lasts seven years if your first licence was AM or T and you were under eighteen, and five years if your first licence was issued when you were already eighteen.

The unpaved strip beside the carriageway. Driving on it is not allowed; stopping in a breakdown sometimes is, but the ground may be soft.

A crash where a wheel drops into the soft verge. The reflex to steer straight back is the mistake: the height difference grabs the tyre and throws the car the other way. Ease off, hold straight, only then return.

Anyone who operates a vehicle. Not only the motorist: a cyclist, a moped rider and the operator of a mobility vehicle are all "bestuurder" too. Someone on foot is not a bestuurder, but is a road user.

A bridge that opens for shipping. A red light and a barrier mean stop before the line; proceeding on flashing red is as serious as at a level crossing. The bridge deck is slippery in rain.

Pulling away, reversing, turning around, changing lanes, entering from a driveway, merging and exiting. Anyone performing such a manoeuvre lets ALL other traffic go first.

An area with a blue line along the kerb where you may park only with a parking disc. Set the disc to your time of arrival, rounded up to the next half hour. Parking is free there, but not unrestricted.

Chequered marking at a bus stop. Stopping there is prohibited, even briefly, so the bus can reach the stop.

A curve in the road. You reduce speed before the bend; braking in the bend itself costs grip and can make the vehicle break away.

A financial penalty for a traffic offence. Most are handled outside the courts under the Wet Mulder: the CJIB sends the notice to the registered keeper. An objection is possible, but the deadline is short.

A light powered two-wheeler, recognisable by its yellow plate. 45 km/h on the carriageway, 30 inside and 40 outside built-up areas on the cycle/moped path. A helmet is compulsory. Licence AM from age 16.

A covered four-wheeler with moped characteristics: 45 km/h maximum, category AM licence, blue plate. It drives on the carriageway, not the cycle path, and is banned from motorways and expressways.

Driving too close to the vehicle in front. Article 19 RVV requires that you can stop in time; the two-second rule is the guide, four on a wet surface. It is an offence in its own right, not a matter of driving style.

A place where the carriageway crosses a bus lane. Crossing is allowed unless a sign forbids it; driving along it is not. The bus often arrives faster than expected, because it is not stuck in the queue.

The place where the bus stops, marked by a yellow broken line at the kerb. Inside built-up areas you must let a bus that is pulling away and indicating go first. Stopping on the yellow line is not allowed.

A lane intended solely for service buses, indicated by sign F13. Driving on it, stopping on it or using it to overtake are all three not allowed.

A sound signal to warn others of danger. Use out of irritation is not among its purposes and can itself be dangerous.

A stretch running downhill. Gravity works with your speed, so the braking distance grows. On a long descent change down and let the engine do the work; continuous braking heats the brakes, and hot brakes bite less.

The area around the vehicle you cannot see, neither directly nor in the mirrors. On trucks that zone is so large that a cyclist fits into it entirely.

Traffic that only passes through an area without having a destination in it. A supplementary plate «except local traffic» excludes exactly this traffic: those with business there may pass, those merely passing through may not.

An unbroken white line on the road surface. You may not cross it, nor drive on it.

What you do before the emergency services arrive: your own safety first, call 112, do not move the casualty unless there is immediate danger. A motorcyclist’s helmet stays on unless they are not breathing.

An area beginning at sign G5 and ending at G6. You may drive only at walking pace, pedestrians may use the full width of the road, and parking is allowed only in the designated places.

Transport exceeding the legal dimensions or mass. It runs under an RDW exemption, on a fixed route and often with escort. Do not overtake it: the vehicle needs the full width in bends.

A version of the test for candidates with test anxiety: more time, an examiner with additional training, room to pause. The driving requirements are not lower — only the conditions differ.

An independent road for cyclists, indicated by sign G11 (compulsory) or G13 (optional). Under G12a mopeds may use it too.

Turning right across a cycle path you cross the path of someone going straight on. Straight ahead takes precedence over turning traffic.

A street with red surfacing where cyclists set the pace and cars are guests. Legally it is an ordinary road: overtaking cyclists is undesirable there, but priority follows the normal rules and signs.

A strip on the carriageway itself, marked with a bicycle symbol and usually a broken or solid line. Unlike a cycle path it remains part of the carriageway.

Stationary or slow-moving traffic. Keep your distance here too: rear-end collisions in queues are the most common crashes.

Stop, unless the short distance makes that unsafe. It is not an invitation to speed up.

A bay with sign E6, only for holders of a disabled parking card; if a registration is shown on the plate below, it is reserved for that one vehicle. Parking there without entitlement carries one of the highest parking fines and can mean towing.

A Dutch category B licence is valid for ten years. From 75 the term shortens and a medical assessment is required; before that a health declaration may also trigger one. The expiry date is on the card itself.

A junction where no signs and no shark’s teeth govern priority. The general rule then applies: traffic from the right goes first.

Prescription medicines also fall under the prohibition of art. 8(1) if you know or ought to know they reduce driving ability. Packaging often carries a yellow warning sticker.

Part of the theory exam where you choose, from a photo, between braking, easing off or doing nothing. It tests judgement, not memory.

A load that adds risk in an accident. The orange plate at the rear carries the hazard number above and the substance number below. In an accident stay upwind and at a distance, and report both numbers to 112.

A reflective triangle placed behind the vehicle after a breakdown, far enough back for traffic to brake in time — tens of metres on a motorway. You wear a safety vest and stand behind the barrier.

A form by which the CBR assesses whether you are physically and mentally fit to drive. Without it the practical exam does not go ahead.

Reduced grip from rain, ice, snow, leaves or oil. Most dangerous is the first shower after a dry spell: dirt then floats on the water and the road is slicker than in steady rain.

The belt is compulsory in every seat that has one, including in the back. For children under twelve the driver is liable; from twelve the passenger is liable themselves.

You may proceed. The light overrides only priority signs; a prohibitory or speed sign still applies.

A series of traffic lights tuned to one another. A small sign gives the speed at which you meet them green one after another. Driving faster does not pay: you simply end up stopped at the next light.

Lighting that reaches far ahead. You dip as soon as you approach an oncoming vehicle or come up close behind one — dazzle works through the mirror too. In fog, snow and heavy rain main beam reflects back and actually worsens visibility.

A row of white triangles on the road surface, points towards you: give priority to drivers on the intersecting road. They work on their own, even without sign B6. Because they regulate priority, traffic lights do override them.

Shifting up early, driving evenly, looking far ahead and coasting on the engine instead of braking. It saves fuel, but the underlying skill is the same as in hazard perception: seeing sooner what is coming.

Passing the vehicle in front on the left. Before pulling out it must be certain that the whole manoeuvre fits: clear view, room to return, no oncoming vehicle approaching. Deciding halfway is too late — by then there is no way back.

A ban imposed by sign F1 or F3. F1 forbids motor vehicles overtaking ONE ANOTHER; overtaking a cyclist or a tractor is therefore allowed.

Sign F1 prohibits overtaking for all motor vehicles, F3 only for lorries; F2 and F4 lift them again. The ban applies to motor vehicles — so you may still pass a cyclist, provided it is safe.

The distance that must be clear before you start overtaking. It is your own overtaking distance plus the distance an oncoming vehicle covers in the same time — together nearly double what you intuitively estimate. If in doubt, the answer is no.

Passing a vehicle travelling in the same direction. Prohibited where sign F1 stands, and prohibited for trucks where F3 stands.

Sign C2: you may not enter from this side. From the other side there will be C3 or C4 and the road is open. The sign forbids the entry, not the road itself — which is exactly why one-way traffic needs two different signs.

Driving from the acceleration lane onto the carriageway. The merging driver gives way to traffic already on the carriageway, which need not brake or move over. Match speed on the acceleration lane, not after it.

The lane on which you build up speed to merge. It exists to match your speed with traffic on the carriageway; driving it too slowly forces others to brake.

Proof that the vehicle is registered, nowadays as a registration card. It belongs to the documents you must hand over for inspection on first demand.

The plate bearing the registration. On two-wheelers the colour immediately says which category it is: yellow for the 45 km/h moped, blue for the 25 km/h one.

Turning around to drive the other way. A special manoeuvre, so you let ALL other traffic go first; sign F7 may prohibit it.

An approved seat for children shorter than 1.35 metres. The threshold is height, not age. A rear-facing child seat may not be used on a seat with an active airbag in front of it.

The light no longer governs the junction. What applies then you read from the signs and shark's teeth — otherwise the general rule applies.

A place where roads cross or meet. A driveway exit is NOT a junction — different rules apply there, and that difference decides who must give way.

Pedestrians, cyclists, children and the elderly: road users with no bodywork around them. Hazard perception is almost always about them.

A charging point for electric cars. The bay in front is reserved by sign E4 with a supplementary plate for vehicles that are charging; standing there without charging is illegal parking, even in an electric car.

Loading or unloading goods too heavy or bulky to carry, right there and then. While that is happening, a parking ban does not count as parking. Shopping or waiting does not qualify.

What you carry. The driver is responsible for ensuring it cannot shift, fall or obstruct the view. Protruding loads must be marked; behind the car they may protrude by at most one metre.

A tractor or similar machine. Since 2021 it carries a registration plate and needs its own category T licence; its design speed is 40 km/h. It is not allowed on motorways or expressways.

A round of every lamp: dipped and main beam, side lights, brake lights, tail lights, indicators, plate light, fog lights. A failed tail light is the one the driver never sees — which is why a monthly check pays off and the MOT requires it.

An electronic sign above the lane. It applies only to the lane it hangs over and takes precedence over fixed roadside signs, because it responds to what is happening on the road right now.

An area only vehicles meeting emission requirements may enter, marked by sign C22e. Which requirements apply is on the supplementary panel — without it the sign says nothing concrete.

A group of vehicles with a blue flag at the front and a green one at the rear. The convoy counts as a single unit: you do not drive into it or break it up, not even at a junction where you would have priority.

Visibility under 200 metres. The rear fog light may be used only when visibility is below 50 metres — above that it dazzles the driver behind. Main beam is counterproductive in fog: the light reflects back.

Slowing down by releasing the throttle in a low gear. On a long descent it keeps the speed steady without letting the brakes heat up; hot brakes lose their power.

A vehicle with an engine, intended to travel over land. Cars, motorcycles and mopeds fall under it; a bicycle without pedal assistance does not. Where the law says "motorrijtuig", the cyclist stays outside its scope.

A wet surface lengthens the braking distance considerably: at the same speed you need appreciably more metres than on dry asphalt.

A line with gaps. Crossing is allowed provided it is safe.

A bend where you cannot see what lies beyond. Art. 19 ties your speed to what you can survey, so here the sign is not the measure — your sight distance is.

The road by which you join the motorway. At its end lies the acceleration lane; through traffic goes first.

A vehicle is a priority vehicle only when it shows a blue beacon and sounds a two-tone horn. A beacon alone means «I am working here» and grants no priority; a siren alone does not occur in practice. An amber beacon never grants priority.

Animals crossing the road, indicated by sign J27. They move in groups: one animal means more are coming. Swerving is more dangerous than braking — hitting a tree or an oncoming car ends worse.

A card with a clock, displayed behind the windscreen. It shows when you arrived, not when you will leave. Moving it while the car is parked is not allowed: that counts as exceeding the time.

Sign E1 or a broken yellow line along the kerb. Parking is prohibited; stopping briefly to let someone in or out, or to load and unload, is still allowed. A solid yellow line prohibits that too.

Standing still longer than needed for immediate boarding or loading. Waiting for someone who has yet to arrive is therefore parking.

Anyone travelling without driving. Passengers use the available belt, and there may be no more of them than there are belts.

The driving test at the CBR, about 55 minutes with an examiner. Besides driving on instruction it includes independent driving: navigating on your own judgement or to a route instruction. The theory certificate must be valid.

The vehicle authority: registrations, MOT records, type approval, and issuing the licence document through the municipality. The RDW deals with vehicles and documents; the CBR with the driver.

The metres you cover between seeing the hazard and your foot touching the brake pedal. It grows in direct proportion to speed, because you react for just as long but cover more ground in that time.

A red light that comes on as soon as you brake. It is the only signal warning those behind you; if it fails they see your deceleration only when it is too late.

The metres from the moment the brakes bite until the vehicle stands still. It grows with the square of the speed, because kinetic energy itself grows quadratically.

A flashing light announcing your intention. It does not give you priority: announcing is not the same as being allowed. You must also act on it, otherwise you mislead others.

The part of the road intended for moving traffic, taken as a whole. One carriageway may consist of several lanes; a road may consist of several carriageways separated by a central reservation.

A document conferring the right to drive motor vehicles of certain categories. It is on the art. 160 list and must be handed over for inspection on first demand.

Two different things. Leaving the licence at home is a minor offence: you can show it afterwards. Having no valid licence at all is serious — the insurance will then not cover the damage either, which also hits the other party.

A business giving driving lessons. The instructor must hold a valid WRM certificate; without it the lesson has no legal standing. The certificate can be checked with the IBKI, and that is worth doing before you pay.

A single strip within the carriageway, wide enough for one line of vehicles and usually marked by lines. Traffic signs can be limited to one lane — in which case the sign hangs above that lane.

A special manoeuvre under article 54: you give way to the other traffic. The order is mirrors, indicate, shoulder check, and only then steer — the indicator announces, it grants no right.

Merging alternately where a lane ends, as late as possible at the narrowing. Article 43(3) RVV requires drivers in the continuing lane to let the zip-mergers in.

A circular junction with one-way traffic anticlockwise. Who has priority is set by the signs and shark’s teeth at the entry — it is not a property of the roundabout itself. You indicate when leaving.

For an emergency vehicle you move aside without dangerous manoeuvres. An emergency stop in the middle of the junction helps nobody.

Temporarily putting the registration on hold with the RDW. While the suspension runs, the duties to insure, pay road tax and hold an MOT lapse — but the vehicle may not stand on a public road.

A brief look over your shoulder before changing lanes. Mirrors do not cover the blind spot; the shoulder check is the only thing that does. It is explicitly assessed in the practical exam.

A powered two-wheeler limited to 25 km/h, recognisable by its blue plate. Legally a different category from the bromfiets, with its own speed and its own place on the road.

An interior mirror and two exterior mirrors. Together they cover the view behind you, but not the blind spot. Convex mirrors show more and make everything smaller, so cars look further away than they are.

An extra lane open only when a green arrow is displayed above it. Under a red cross it is closed and may not be used, even if it is empty. The hard shoulder then no longer serves as an emergency lane.

A place where the road crosses the railway. Only enter when you are sure you can get off it; stopping on the crossing is lethal and prohibited.

Driving no faster than a person walks. The law names no figure; in practice it comes down to roughly 15 km/h. It applies among other places in a living zone (erf).

Letting the vehicle stand still, however briefly. All parking is stopping, but not all stopping is parking.

Reaction distance plus braking distance. This is the distance that actually matters on the road, and the only one art. 19 means when it says you must be able to stop within the stretch you can see.

Rule of thumb: take the speed in tens. Reaction distance is that number times three, braking distance is its square; together the stopping distance. At 80 km/h: 8×3 = 24 plus 8×8 = 64, giving 88 metres. The table on this site gives 53 metres dry and 72 wet at 80 km/h. The difference is deliberate: the rule of thumb assumes weak deceleration and rounds up, so that it still holds on a wet surface with mediocre tyres. Use it to estimate in your head, and the table to understand where the number comes from. What holds in both: double the speed and the braking distance becomes four times as long, because it grows with the square. Reaction distance grows only in direct proportion.

A broad white line across the carriageway where you must stop. It belongs with sign B7 or a traffic light and marks how far you may come.

A vehicle with a blue plate and taxi sign. Supplementary plates reading «except taxi» give it access to bus lanes and stopping places. That exception applies to the taxi only — an ordinary car behind it may not follow.

A vehicle coming towards you. A driver turning left lets the oncoming vehicle go first: it is going straight on and therefore has priority. When dazzled, look at the right-hand edge of the road, not at the headlights.

The exam on rules, traffic insight and hazard perception. The result is valid for a year and a half — not one year, as is often thought.

A traffic light on the slip road admitting cars one at a time. Red here means red: driving through disrupts exactly what the metering exists to prevent — the through carriageway seizing up.

Speed measured over a distance: the time between two gantries gives the average speed. Braking briefly at the camera therefore does not help — the average over the whole section counts.

A rail vehicle sharing or crossing the road. A tram brakes far more slowly than a car and cannot swerve; that is why it has priority in many situations.

At equivalent junctions the tram has priority over all other traffic, even coming from the left. The reason is physical: a tram cannot swerve and has a braking distance no car can match.

A raised part of the road alongside the carriageway, intended for pedestrians. Parking on it is allowed only where sign E8b is posted.

A covered section of road. Dipped headlights are compulsory, also by day. Stopping is not allowed; in a breakdown you switch on hazard lights and leave the vehicle via the nearest emergency exit. Overtaking is usually prohibited and signposted.

A test drive at the CBR halfway through training, to the same examiner standard but without a pass result. Allowed from 16.5.

A way to measure distance: when the car ahead passes a post, count two seconds; if you reach it sooner you are too close. On a wet surface double it to four. The rule works at any speed, because the distance scales by itself.

A lane on which you reduce speed after leaving the through carriageway. You brake here, not on the carriageway itself.

A place where you enter the road from a yard, car park or drive. That is a special manoeuvre, so you must let ALL other traffic go first.

A line of vehicles travelling together to a funeral, recognisable by lights on in daytime and sometimes small flags. Like a convoy the procession is not broken up; that does not give it priority over signs or lights.

Leaving the carriageway via the deceleration lane. Slow down only on the deceleration lane: braking in the right-hand lane forces the traffic behind you to brake at full speed.

A vehicle ferry. On board you switch off the engine and apply the handbrake. Boarding and leaving, you follow the crew’s instructions; these override the ordinary priority rules here, just as a traffic controller does.

A fluorescent vest. Not legally required in the car in the Netherlands, but in a motorway breakdown it is the difference between being seen and not. In many neighbouring countries it is compulsory.

Temporary loss of vision from bright light. The response is not squinting or braking but slowing down and looking along the right-hand edge of the road: that is where the marking is that keeps your course while your eyes recover.

A light signal governing traffic. It overrides traffic signs that regulate priority, but not a prohibitory sign or a speed sign.

A collision on the road. Driving on after an accident with injury is a crime, not a mere offence. With damage only you exchange details and fill in the accident form; the police do not attend as a matter of course.

A person directing traffic by gestures. Their instruction overrides traffic signs and rules, provided they are authorised and recognisable as such.

Umbrella term covering traffic signs, traffic lights AND markings on the road surface. Chapter III of the RVV treats them together. Traffic signs override the traffic rules in so far as those rules are incompatible with them.

Reduced alertness and slower reaction. Coffee, music and an open window postpone the moment but solve nothing; only sleep helps. Fatigue lengthens the reaction distance above all.

How quickly your speed drops under braking, in metres per second squared. Higher on dry asphalt than on wet; that is why the braking distance is longer on a wet surface at the same speed.

A raised area in the middle of the carriageway where pedestrians can wait. For drivers it is an obstacle; sign D2 or D3 says which side to pass.

A strip alongside the motorway for breakdowns and emergency services. Stopping there is allowed only when necessary, and then with position and tail lights at night or in poor visibility.

Driving along the hard shoulder to bypass a queue. It is prohibited and it blocks the only route for the emergency services. Exception: a green arrow above the strip, which makes it temporarily a running lane.

The umbrella term. A bicycle is a vehicle, a cart is a vehicle, a car is a vehicle. Where the law says "voertuig", the rule therefore applies to cyclists as well.

Anyone moving on foot. Someone wheeling a bicycle or moped also counts as a pedestrian, not as a driver.

An area with sign G7 open to pedestrians only. A supplementary plate may allow deliveries within set hours. Cycling and mopeds are prohibited there unless the plate permits it.

A crossing marked with white bands. Drivers must let pedestrians who are crossing, or clearly about to cross, go first.

The duty of anyone performing a special manoeuvre: pulling away, reversing, turning around, changing lanes, entering from a driveway. You must then let ALL other traffic go first — including cyclists and pedestrians, and regardless of the direction they come from.

Letting the other continue without hindrance at a junction. It concerns priority between drivers meeting at a crossing, and is governed by signs, shark's teeth or the general rule.

A junction where priority is governed by signs B1–B7, shark’s teeth or a traffic light. If all of that is absent the junction is equivalent and traffic from the right goes first. A traffic controller overrides everything.

A vehicle showing both a blue flashing light and a two-tone horn. Only that combination confers priority; a flashing light alone does not.

A road with sign B1, on which drivers on all intersecting roads must give way. It applies until sign B2, not until the next junction.

A lane with an arrow on the surface. The arrow is a traffic sign: once in it, you must go that way. Changing lanes after the solid line is not allowed, even if you made a mistake.

Choosing in good time the lane that matches your direction. The change itself is a special manoeuvre, so you let other traffic go first.

A motor vehicle for carrying goods with a permitted maximum mass above 3500 kg. It has a special maximum speed of 80 km/h, including on the motorway.

Legally required liability insurance. It attaches to the registration, not to the driver: while a vehicle is registered in your name it must be insured, even standing still. Suspending the registration lifts that duty.

A symbol on the dashboard. Red means stop now — oil pressure, coolant, brakes, battery. Yellow or amber means you can drive on but have it checked. Green and blue are not warnings but notifications.

The broadest category: everyone present on the road. Pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, riders and drovers all fall under it. Every bestuurder is a road user; not every road user is a bestuurder.

The municipality’s power to tow away an illegally parked vehicle. Towing charges and daily storage costs come on top of the fine; the vehicle is released only once everything is paid.

Work on the road. Yellow lines take precedence over white: where yellow is present, the white marking does not exist for you. Temporary signs take precedence over fixed ones.

Vehicles working on or at the road: gritters, sweepers, road building. They carry an amber beacon. That only warns — it grants no priority, but it does mean the vehicle may stop or swerve unexpectedly.

A crossing with white stripes. You give way to pedestrians who are crossing and to those clearly about to cross. Overtaking just before a zebra crossing is prohibited: the overtaken car blocks the view.

The stretch of road you can survey. Art. 19 ties your speed to it: you must be able to stop within what you see and what is clear.

Wind across your direction of travel. The dangerous moment is the transition: coming out of the shelter of a bridge or a lorry, the wind returns at once and pushes the car sideways. Hold the wheel lightly and slow down.

An area in which a rule applies, marked by the word "zone" above the sign. Unlike an ordinary sign, a zone sign applies to the whole area beyond it and ends only at its matching end sign.

A blue or amber rotating light. A blue beacon confers priority only together with the two-tone horn; amber warns but never confers priority.