Markings on the road surface
| What it means | May you cross it | Where it goes wrong | What you do | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid line | Art. 76(1): a solid line that is NOT along the edge of the paved carriageway may not be crossed. The line along the roadside therefore falls outside this rule. | No, except in the three cases of paragraph 2 | Assuming there are no exceptions. Art. 76(2) names three, and the second matters most: if a broken line lies on YOUR side, you may cross the solid line after all. | Do not cross it — except in the cases art. 76(2) itself names, including a broken line on your side. |
| Broken line | It forbids nothing by itself. More than that: if it lies on your side next to a solid line, it lifts the prohibition of paragraph 1 (art. 76(2)(b)). | Yes | “Broken, so overtaking is allowed” — not always. The line permits it, but a no-overtaking sign (art. 62) or a zebra crossing (art. 12) can still forbid it. | Crossing is allowed, but the other rules remain — overtake only when it is safe and permitted. |
| Block marking | Blocks separating a merging or exit lane from the through carriageway. Art. 11(4) gives it one rule of its own: those to its right may overtake those to its left on the right. | Yes, it is not a solid line | Mistaking it for a prohibition. It separates lanes and is precisely what makes overtaking on the right lawful — one of the few places. | Stay right of it; whoever drives left of it may overtake you on the right, and that is normal. |
| Stop line | Art. 79: where stopping is required by this regulation, you must stop before the stop line. It marks the place, not the obligation. | Only if you do not have to stop | Coming to a stop on the line or just past it. If you have to stop, you stop BEFORE it: the line marks the boundary, not the place where you may stand. | Stop before it when another provision requires stopping — the line says where, not whether. |
| Shark teeth | Art. 80: drivers must give way to drivers on the crossing road. Triangles with the point towards you. | Yes, after giving way | Shark teeth do not require stopping. If the crossing road is clear you may drive on — that is the difference from sign B7. | Give way to traffic on the crossing road; stopping is needed only if necessary. |
| Temporary marking | Art. 63a: temporary road-surface signs override the other signs on that same surface, in so far as they are incompatible. | Follow the temporary, ignore the old | Saying “yellow overrides white”. The law names no colour but TEMPORARINESS (art. 63a); yellow is in practice the colour of temporary marking, not the rule itself. | Follow the temporary lines and ignore the permanent ones where they clash. |
The law itself
RVV1990 art. 76RVV1990 art. 76 lid 2RVV1990 art. 11 lid 4RVV1990 art. 79RVV1990 art. 80RVV1990 art. 63aRVV1990 art. 12RVV1990 art. 62
Verified on: