Which instruction beats which
| Level | Rank and legal basis | Example | What if it conflicts with the level below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructions (police officer, traffic controller) | 1 — art. 84 RVV, the only genuine top rule: instructions override all traffic signs and all traffic rules. Art. 82 defines who may give them: authorised and recognisable officials, the Royal Marechaussee, authorised traffic controllers, and trainee traffic controllers wearing the prescribed clothing. | An officer at a junction with working lights signals you to stop, using the gesture set out in Annex II. | Green light and a stop signal from the officer at the same time: you stop. Art. 84 admits no exception. Note the condition in art. 82: the person must be both authorised and recognisable as such. A random man in a yellow vest is not a traffic controller. |
| Traffic lights | 2 — but only within a narrow boundary. Art. 64 reads literally: traffic lights override traffic signs that regulate PRIORITY. Not all signs. | A traffic light stands on a priority road (sign B1). When it turns red, B1 loses its effect: you stop. | The classic trap: green does not cancel a prohibitory sign. If C2 (no entry) or a no-left-turn sign is posted, it still applies no matter how green the light is. Art. 64 touches priority signs only — which does include the shark's teeth on the road surface. If the light flashes amber or is off, the sign beneath it governs again. |
| Traffic signs | 3 in the teaching order. Legally: art. 62 obliges you to obey signs containing a command or prohibition, and art. 63 places traffic signs above the traffic rules in so far as those rules are incompatible. | Sign B6 (give way) on a side road switches off the general rule of art. 15: traffic from the right normally has priority, but not here. | Where a sign clashes with road markings, the RVV gives no general ordering: both are traffic signs and sit side by side in the law. In practice you follow the more restrictive one and report the contradiction to the road authority. Only for the road surface itself is there a hard rule — see the row below. |
| Road-surface markings | 4 in the teaching order, but legally not a separate level: markings are traffic signs just as much (Chapter III, § 4). The only hard ordering rule is in art. 63a. | Shark's teeth and a stop line regulate priority without any sign having to be present. | Art. 63a — the rule almost nobody teaches: temporary markings on the road surface override the other markings at that spot, in so far as they are incompatible. At roadworks you therefore follow the yellow lines and ignore the white ones beneath. Note the article's limit: it covers only markings on the ROAD SURFACE, not a temporary sign versus a permanent marking. |
| General traffic rules | 5 and last. Art. 63: traffic signs override traffic rules in so far as those rules are incompatible with the signs. Where nothing is posted, these rules apply — and that is the normal case. | Art. 15: traffic from the right goes first. Arts. 20 and 21: 50 inside and 80 outside built-up areas, with no sign needed. | Speed falls outside the ordinary hierarchy. Art. 63b: if a sign shows a HIGHER speed than the special maximum of arts. 20b, 21b, 22 or 22a, the lower of the two applies. A truck passing a "100" sign is therefore still limited to 80. If a fixed sign and an electronic gantry sign are shown at once, the lower one likewise applies (art. 63b para. 2). |
Notes
- The law has three levels, not five. Art. 84 places instructions above traffic signs and traffic rules; art. 63 places traffic signs above traffic rules. "Verkeerstekens" is an umbrella term covering signs, lights and markings together (Chapter III). The five-rung ladder you see everywhere is a teaching model layered on top of those three — useful, but it is not a statutory article.
- Remember the exact wording of art. 64: traffic lights override signs that regulate PRIORITY. A green light does not release you from a prohibitory sign, a speed sign, or a ban on turning.
- Arts. 63 and 63a both operate only "in so far as incompatible". Two signs that can coexist therefore both apply. Ranking only comes into play once they genuinely exclude one another.
- Art. 82 sets a condition that is often skipped: whoever gives the instruction must be both authorised and recognisable as such. A trainee traffic controller counts too, but only while wearing the clothing prescribed by ministerial regulation.
The law itself
- RVV1990 art. 84
«Aanwijzingen gaan boven verkeerstekens en verkeersregels.»
- RVV1990 art. 82 lid 1
«Weggebruikers zijn verplicht de aanwijzingen op te volgen die mondeling of door middel van gebaren worden gegeven door: a. de daartoe bevoegde en als zodanig kenbare ambtenaren,»
- RVV1990 art. 64
«Verkeerslichten gaan boven verkeerstekens die de voorrang regelen.»
- RVV1990 art. 63
«Verkeerstekens gaan boven verkeersregels, voor zover deze regels onverenigbaar zijn met deze tekens.»
- RVV1990 art. 63a
«Tijdelijke geplaatste of toegepaste verkeerstekens op het wegdek gaan boven ter plekke aangebrachte andere verkeerstekens op het wegdek, voor zover deze verkeerstekens onverenigbaar zijn.»
- RVV1990 art. 62
«Weggebruikers zijn verplicht gevolg te geven aan de verkeerstekens die een gebod of verbod inhouden.»
- RVV1990 art. 63b lid 1
«Wanneer verkeerstekens die een maximumsnelheid aanduiden een hogere snelheid aangeven dan: a. de in de artikelen 20, onderdeel b, 21, onderdeel b, 22 en 22a vastgestelde maximumsnelheden, of b. de ingevolge een ministeriële regeling krachtens artikel 86a geldende maximumsnelheid, of c. de in artikel 45 aangegeven snelheid, geldt de laagste aangegeven snelheid.»
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