Convoys, processions and funeral corteges
| What the rule says | Where it goes wrong | |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting through forbidden | Road users may not cut through military convoys or motor funeral corteges. The ban applies to ALL road users, cyclists and pedestrians included. | Thinking the cortege has “priority”. It does not say that: it is a ban on you, not a right of theirs. Whoever is already between two vehicles need not reverse — they simply may not cross the line. |
| What a military convoy is | Motor vehicles one behind the other, military or used by the disaster-relief organisation, under ONE commander. So it is a designated unit, not vehicles happening to travel together. | Taking any line of lorries or any group of motorcyclists for a convoy. Without military origin and a single commander it is ordinary traffic under ordinary rules. |
| How you recognise a funeral cortege | The vehicles of a funeral cortege carry a recognition marking (art. 30c). Art. 31 forbids carrying it in other cases — so it is a reliable signal. | Going by the mood: slow driving, lights on, dark cars. The marking is the criterion; without it there is legally no cortege you may not cut through. |
| A procession on foot on the carriageway | Pedestrians may use the carriageway when they form a column, procession or funeral cortege — contrary to the main rule, which sends them to the pavement or footpath. | Seeing such a group as an offence and trying to squeeze past. They are lawfully there; it is your job to share the carriageway with them. |
| A procession on foot counts as a vehicle | If such a procession follows the carriageway, the rules on CARTS apply to it. The group is then treated as one road user, not as separate pedestrians. | Chopping the group up at a junction or a light. As one road user it belongs together — which is exactly what art. 16 states for motor vehicles. |
The law itself
RVV1990 art. 16RVV1990 art. 1 (militaire colonne)RVV1990 art. 30cRVV1990 art. 31RVV1990 art. 9RVV1990 art. 2 lid 3
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