Netherlands

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Handedness of road traffic

Netehrlands is a right-hand traffic country.

Speed Limits

The general speed limits in the Netherlands are presented in the table:[1]

General Speed limits in km/h (mph)
Type of vehicle Built-up areas Rural roads Expressways Motorways
Passenger cars, commercial vehicles ≤ 3,5 t GVW and motorcycles 50 (31) 80 (49) 100 (62)[note 1][2] 130 (80)[note 2][note 1][2]
Campers derived from trucks or buses, weighing > 3,5 t GVW 50 (31) 80 (49) 80 (49) 80 (49)
Passenger cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles with a trailer, weighing ≤ 3,5 t GVW 50 (31) 80 (49) 90 (55) 90 (55)
Passenger cars and commercial vehicles with a trailer, weighing > 3,5 t GVW 50 (31) 80 (49) 80 (49) 80 (49)
Microcars 45 (27) 45 (27) Not permitted to drive Not permitted to drive
Mopeds driving on the road 45 (27) 45 (27) Not permitted to drive Not permitted to drive
Mopeds driving on biycle / moped paths 30 (18) 40 (24) - -

Notes:

  1. 1.0 1.1 In the event of a serious disruption of the oil supply, it may be determined by regulation of the Minister of Transport that motorways and expressways, shall have a maximum speed of 90 km/h for motor vehicles.
  2. The speed limit from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm is 100 km/h, in an effort to reduce emissions.

Documents

  1. You have to be 18 years old with a valid full driving license in order to drive in the Netherlands. Driving licenses issued by any of the EU member states or the EEA are valid throughout the European Union and of course in the Netherlands. Drivers in possession of a license that isn't printed with Latin alphabet should carry an International Drivers Permit (IDP) or an official translation of it in English along with their original driver's license document.
  2. Registration certificate.
  3. Certificate of Motor Insurance. Insurance documents from any EU country are acceptable, though holding a International Motor insurance card (Green Card) with you is a good practice. Third-part insurance is the minimum requirement.
  4. All foreign-registered with non-EU number plates vehicles must display a nationality sticker at the rear. Separate signs are not needed for Canada, Mexico and the United States, where the province, state or district of registration is usually embossed or surface-printed on the vehicle registration plate.

Items required in cars or with motorcycles

  1. Emergency warning triangle. It is not compulsory to carry one with you, but it is compulsory to use it for vehicles that have more than two wheels and for trailers, if they have broken down and they act as obstacle for traffic not detectable in time by other users of the road, only when they don't have their hazard lights activated. When used the warning triangle must be clearly visible on the road at a distance of approximately 30 meters from the vehicle and in the direction of the traffic affected by the stationary vehicle.[3]
  2. Right-hand drive (RHD) cars have to use headlamp converters to prevent dazzling oncoming traffic if their headlamps are not adjustable.

Winter conditions

The use of winter tires in not obligatory in the Netherlands. The use of snow chains is not allowed on public roads.

Studded tires

The use of studded tires is not allowed in the country.

Headlights

It is not mandatory to use your vehicle's headlights during daylight. During the day their use is only compulsory under significantly impaired visibility conditions.

Filling stations

There are both manned and unmanned stations in the Netherlands. Most of them accept chip and PIN debit cards, with credit cards may not be accepted by smaller stations.

Automated unmanned fuel stations are open 24 hours and only accept cards with PIN.

Fuel types

  1. Unleaded petrol / gasoline (Dutch: Ongelood)
    Petrol is commonly called at the pump Euro 95 when it has an octane rating of 95 RON or Super 98 when it has an octane rating of 98 RON. The labels E5 and E10 that may accompany petrol fuel's name refer to the percentage of ethanol in the mix with it being 5% or 10% respectively and the rest of the mix consists of standard unleaded petrol.
  2. Diesel.
  3. LPG. A list of stations that offer LPG is available by following the previous link.
  4. CNG. A list of stations that offer CNG can be found by clicking the link at the start of this sentence.

Fuel prices

ANWB Onderweg – Verkeer, Parkeren & Tanken app, available for Android and iOS has a list of gas stations indicated on map, with their current fuel prices.

Electric vehicle chargers

You can find electric car and PHEVs chargers in the Netherlands at lemnet.org, also available for Andorid and iOS

Road user charges

Tolls

There are only two toll roads in the Netherlands, two tunnels: the Kiltunnel amd the Westerscheldetunnel.

Kiltunnel

Pricing, as well as payment methods are available on the official website.

  1. In lanes with a blue sign depicting a man, you can pay with:
    1. Cash. Only banknotes up to 50 € are accepted. Commemorative coins are not accepted.
    2. Maestro and V Pay chip and PIN debit cards and Visa and MasterCard credit cards.
  2. In lanes where the word "Telecard" is written you can pay by the proprietary Telecard which offers discounted prices for using the tunnel. You can buy it from lanes with a toll clerk (the ones with the blue sign mentioned above) for 4,55 € plus a minimum top up of 15 €. The maximum amount of money that can be held by the card is 500 €.
    You have to take the card out of its protective cover and held it in front of the antenna in order to use it. The appropriate amount of money is subtracted from the card. The display on the toll booth shows both the amount to be debited and the credit balance, so that you can top up your credit in time.
    You can top up your card at the top up station just before the toll plaza, on the right side of the road. Topping up is also possible in manned toll lanes indicated by the words “Telecard / Cash” and the blue sign. In toll lanes where only the text “Telecard” is shown, you cannot top up your card.

Westerscheldetunnel

Toll rates for different vehicle categories are available on the tunnel's official website, with free pass days also listed there.

Payment methods are:

  1. Cash in manned stations indicated by an electronic sign depicting a man.
  2. With the debit and credit, as well as petrol stations' cards listed on the tunnel's official website, in lanes indicated by an electronic sign writing the word "Creditcards".
  3. With the electronic t-tag (m-tag for motorcyclists), which offers discounted prices for the use of the tunnel, automatically without stopping at the toll plaza in the dedicated lanes with the t-tag electronic sign. You can request a t-tag or an m-tag by following the respective links to their official website.

References

  1. Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, "Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens 1990 (RVV 1990),", Hoofdstuk II. Verkeersregels, § 8. Maximumsnelheid, Artikels 20, 21 & 22
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, "Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens 1990 (RVV 1990),", Hoofdstuk VA. Tijdelijke verlaging maximumsnelheid in geval van verstoring olie-aanvoer, Artikel 86a
  3. Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, "Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens 1990 (RVV 1990),", Hoofdstuk II. Verkeersregels, § 26. Gevarendriehoek, Artikel 58