car expertOn narrow roads, large agricultural vehicles and passenger cars can often barely pass each other. Reader Dini Kuiperij wonders whether she is entitled to half the road. Our car expert Niek Schenk provides the answer.
Ask: “Some cars and especially agricultural machines are very wide. On narrow country roads they need the entire width of the road and sometimes even the shoulder. When I walk there with my dog I often have to swerve. Not to mention the moment I drive the car there. I’m entitled to half the road, right?”
Auto editor Niek Schenk answers: “The right to half the road does not exist. That is really not legally established. There are narrow Dutch roads where even two normal-sized cars cannot pass each other. In that case, it is about giving each other space by waiting at a wider section until the other has passed, or using the verge, if possible.”
“There is a maximum width for vehicles. The law prescribes that trucks and their attached trailers and semi-trailers may be a maximum of 2.55 meters wide. For refrigerated trucks with the necessary, extra thick walls, even 2.60 meters applies. Agricultural vehicles and other so-called moving implements may be 3.00 meters wide, including the tires. Trailers also have to deal with a width restriction. Since January 1 of this year, they may be a maximum of 2.55 meters wide, measured across the container. Previously, a maximum width of 3.00 meters applied. However, vehicles with a special exemption can always be wider than what the law prescribes.”
Our car editor Niek Schenk answers reader questions every week. Email your question to [email protected]
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