Autoweg and autosnelweg — the differences
| Autosnelweg (G1) | Autoweg (G3) | Where it goes wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you recognise it | Sign G1. The road begins where the sign stands, not where the road gets wide. | Sign G3. Often a single carriageway, sometimes without a central reservation. | Going by looks. A wide road with two carriageways is not a motorway without G1, and a narrow road can still be an autoweg. |
| Who may use it | Art. 42(1): only motor vehicles that MAY and CAN do at least 60 km/h. Two conditions at once: technically able and legally permitted. | Art. 42(2): the same rule, but the threshold is 50 km/h. | Inverting the rule. The law does not say “forbidden to those who cannot exceed 50” but “permitted to those who can do at least 50”. A vehicle doing exactly 50 may use it. |
| Turning round and reversing | Forbidden. Art. 43(1) names both roads in the same breath. | Equally forbidden. Here there is no difference between the two. | Assuming it is allowed on the quieter autoweg. Missing your exit costs a detour; turning round costs more. |
| Stopping on the carriageway | Forbidden, art. 43(2). With no exception for “just a moment”. | The same prohibition; paragraph 2 names both roads. | Applying the ban to the motorway only. Paragraph 2 says “motorway OR autoweg”, and it concerns the carriageway — the hard shoulder is paragraph 3. |
| Hard shoulder, lay-by, verge | Art. 43(3): except in emergencies, using them is forbidden. Not merely stopping — USING, so driving along them too. | Same rule; paragraph 3 names both roads and speaks of road users, not just drivers. | Treating the hard shoulder as a place to take a call or check the route. An “emergency” is a breakdown or danger, not inconvenience. |
| Which lanes heavy traffic may use | Art. 43(4): on a carriageway with three or more lanes, lorries and combinations longer than 7 metres may use only the two rightmost lanes. | This rule applies to the motorway only; paragraph 4 does not name the autoweg. | Thinking a lorry may never use the left. The ban applies from three lanes upwards and not when it has to get into lane for an exit. |
| Merging from the acceleration lane | Art. 54 counts this among special manoeuvres: whoever joins the through carriageway from the acceleration lane gives way to the other traffic. | The same rule; art. 54 names no road type. | Taking “zip merging” for a statutory priority rule. It is not in the RVV: it is safety advice. The law places the duty on the merging driver (art. 54). |
| Speed limit | Art. 21 names 130 km/h, but almost the whole network is signed 100 by day. Figures per vehicle type: table `speeds`. | 100 km/h under art. 21, unless a sign shows something lower. | Taking the statutory 130 for reality. The sign always wins, and by day it usually says 100. |
The law itself
RVV1990 art. 42 lid 1RVV1990 art. 42 lid 2RVV1990 art. 43 lid 1RVV1990 art. 43 lid 2RVV1990 art. 43 lid 3RVV1990 art. 43 lid 4RVV1990 art. 54RVV1990 art. 21RVV1990 Bijlage 1, bord G1RVV1990 Bijlage 1, bord G3RVV1990 art. 62RVV1990 art. 63
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