Position on the road — who goes where

	Where they ride	Where it goes wrong
Cyclist	The compulsory cycle path or the cycle/moped path (art. 5(1)); if there is none, the carriageway (art. 5(2)). The optional cycle path is allowed but not required.	Getting annoyed at a cyclist on the carriageway beside an optional cycle path. They may: optional means optional.
Moped rider (bromfietser)	The cycle/moped path (art. 6(1)); if there is none, the carriageway (art. 6(2)). The ordinary cycle path is not their place.	Treating moped and light moped as one. They are two categories with two placement rules; the sign decides which path is whose.
Light-moped rider (snorfietser)	Art. 5(3): the optional cycle path is allowed, but a rider with a combustion engine may use it only with the engine SWITCHED OFF.	Forgetting the switched-off engine. It is not advice but the condition on which the path is open.
Disabled person's vehicle	Art. 7 gives the widest choice of all: pavement, footpath, cycle path, cycle/moped path or carriageway.	Being surprised to see them on the pavement. It is expressly allowed, and the choice is theirs.
Rider on horseback	The bridleway (art. 8(1)); if there is none, the verge or the carriageway.	Treating a horse as a vehicle. It reacts to sound and movement; pass wide and calmly.
All other drivers	Art. 10(1): whoever is not named in articles 5 to 8 uses the carriageway. That is the car, the lorry, the motorcycle.	Inverting the rule. The law lists the special road users first; the car is what remains, not the starting point.

The law itself

Verified on: 2026-08-07