Special lanes on the carriageway
| Whom the lane is for | What closes it off | Where it goes wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bus lane | With “BUS”: scheduled bus, other buses and tram. With “LIJNBUS”: only the scheduled bus and the tram — the narrower of the two. | By the WORD on the road surface, not by a sign and not by the colour. Art. 23(1)(f) also forbids standing on the carriageway BESIDE it. | Going by the red colour. Red asphalt is not a traffic sign; the word is. A red lane without “BUS” can be an ordinary lane. |
| Cycle lane | Cyclists and drivers of a disabled person's vehicle. They are expressly excepted from the ban in art. 10(2). | By the SOLID line. Only that makes the lane forbidden to others; with a broken line art. 10(2) is silent. | Concluding from “a broken line allows it” that the lane is then yours. Art. 3 (keep right) and art. 18 (beside or close behind you) keep applying, and that is where the cyclist is. |
| Rush-hour lane | For everyone — but only when the signalling OPENS it: a green arrow or a speed limit on sign A3. | By the red cross above it. Art. 76(2)(a) moreover expressly allows crossing the solid line to reach or leave it. | Confusing the rush-hour lane with the hard shoulder because they occupy the same place. The difference is above your head, not under your wheels: without a green arrow it is simply the hard shoulder. |
| Turning lane | For whoever takes the indicated direction — and only that: at the junction you are OBLIGED to follow the direction of your lane. | Not closed off but BINDING: the arrow is an order. A cycle lane inside the turning lane forms part of it under the same provision. | Changing your mind at the last moment and going straight on anyway. That is not “awkward”, it is a breach of art. 78(1). |
| Chevron area and gore | Drivers may NOT use chevron areas and gores; only a rush-hour lane or a lawfully followed bus lane passing a split falls outside the ban (paras 2 and 3). | By the marking itself. There are two exceptions, both about continuity: a rush-hour lane and a bus lane passing a split or a merge. | Seeing it as “empty space” to merge earlier. That is exactly where the car you do not see is: the area exists to keep the streams apart. |
| Hard shoulder | For nobody in normal conditions: it may be used ONLY in emergencies. Art. 73 says so in the same sentence as the red cross. | By a direct prohibition, not by a sign. So nothing changes when there is no signalling above it. | Treating a traffic jam as an emergency. Stationary traffic is not an emergency — the lane must stay clear precisely because the emergency services need it then. |
The law itself
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