Driving in The Netherlands: Dutch Driving & Car Culture, Rules, Tips, Traffic Signs and More

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Thank you for watching this week's video; I hope you enjoyed it and that you've learned something about driving a car in The Netherlands.
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[@TheDutchcountryside]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for watching this weeks video. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask them as I'm more than happy to answer them :)

[@noxcattus5756]

An electronic parking clock is ok?

[@Snakebloke]

Fantastic video, great information, thank you! I'm visiting from the U.K. soon, and, apart from the change in driving side, the road rules and signs are almost identical. Still, good to know about things like the "Shark's Teeth"! Thank you for this! I wanted to make sure I am a safe driver in The Netherlands.

[@boomshanka8743]

Great video, thanks! I lived in Portland OR for many years, they have an excellent bike culture with bike lanes everywhere.

[@TheDutchcountryside]

Thank you for the nice compliment!

[@nlx78]

Per my previous reply, the first link is - Film location reel/teaser back then on Dutch tv, so roughly half of the series in/around Portland, later more remote parts of Oregon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/baOqnIZ5o8SUhMU - S17 E01 (10 total): kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHKqo36NqtRpkNU

[@ToolStacks]

Hello Manon, brilliant video. I'm moving to the Netherlands from Ireland later this month. I've been informed that I will need a residents parking permit to park outside my future apartment. Do these permits allow me to park freely in any area of the city (where parking is legal) or is it just limited to the street I will live on? I believe the street I will live on only allows permit holders to use the parking spaces. With a permit, will I have free access to payed street parking close by, or will I have to pay via an app to use them? Thanks again for the video, it was a great help.

[@lbergen001]

Very interesting video.👍👍thank you.

[@TheDutchcountryside]

Glad you liked it, thank you for watching!

[@hashemkamal467]

❤it was useful.thank you

[@TheDutchcountryside]

So good to hear!

[@top-notch-tech]

Thank you for the informative video. I wished I watched it today before I drove for the first time here in the Netherlands. I felt so nervous and confused when the robot went straight from Red to green. There were also some signs I did not recognize (the priority sign, what does that mean?) and the roudabouts... Yeah that was fun :) I'm still getting used to driving on the right side of the road and the fact that the traffic flow is so continuous, I did not see one stop sign! Cycling in Houten definitely helped a bit to stick the right side of the road. I guess I'll get better driving on the road by making sure that I understand the signs and driving more on the road. Thanks again for your helpful video on how to drive on the roads in your beautiful country. Edit: Dankjewel for the explanation of the blue parking zones!

[@penzancegunner857]

Ja boet 😂

[@theovanstaden5766]

ik ben zo blij dat ik je kanaal heb gevonden, ik hou van al je video's! hallo van de oostkust van zuid afrika vanuit de stad Pietermaritzburg nabij de havenstad Durban, wij afrikaans sprekende zuid afrikanen houden van uw land en het feit dat uw taal de moeder van onze taal is. Heel leuk om het Nederlandse platteland te zien via Jouw video's! Nieuwe abonnee op je zeer goede You Tube-kanaal!

[@christophercutmore]

Thank you, coming from the UK - it seems not that different from UK and France, but it's great to see ahead - appreciate the video 😀

[@TheDutchcountryside]

You're welcome - glad I could help!

[@chrisdiersen1522]

Other videos emphasize the fact that at uncontrolled intersections, you must give way to traffic from the right. You seem to know a lot about the many failings of the US, and your video seems aimed primarily at preventing visitors from the US from making mistakes while driving in the Netherlands. So it surprises me that you fail to point out this most critical difference between driving in the US and driving in the Netherlands. If your concern is safety you should update your video to include this most important bit of information.

[@dofu39]

Very informative for somebody who just exchanged a Dutch driver's license without taking a driving courses in the Netherlands

[@TheDutchcountryside]

I'm glad it's helpful; drive safe!

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I would highly recommend taking a few driving lessons, nevertheless. It will cost you some money, but it will be worth it.

[@Alexander_X_]

Hi, what about bus lanes? Are there fines for blocking buses or using these lanes to overtake traffic jams?

[@samseddmedia]

5:30 I'm used to driving on the right side of the road, so if I ever go to the Netherlands, I just might be comfortable enough to obey that rule.

[@christafiorentina]

I have a few questions. 1. Are there enough charging spot for electric vehicles there? Especially in cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem, etc. 2. A few months ago I took my French friends on a road trip from Jakarta to Yogyakarta Central Java. And they were shocked because they saw my feet while driving only wore sandals. Haha.. I was like "whats wrong with my sandals" 😂 They told me that in France is not allowed to wear sandals on your feet n drive. We have to wear closed shoes. Is it like that too in Netherlands?

[@TheDutchcountryside]

Very good questions. 1. So to answer your first question: yes, we have plenty charging spots for electric vehicles. To find out where they are exactly I would recommend you to download the app 'ANWB Onderweg & Wegenwacht'. When you're in the app (it's a Dutch app btw) you click on 'laadpunten' (charging points) and then can type your city inside 'zoek op locatie' (search for location). And then you will see the closest charging points and if they're available or not (green means yes). 2. So, it's not illegal in The Netherlands, you will not be fined for it and in no insurance (currently) it says something about wearing sandals. But, in the 'wegenwet' or road law it does say: it is forbidden to wear something that can cause danger or hinder for other traffic, etc.. And technically wearing sandals can increase the chance of an accident as they can slip off or get stuck under the brake, etc. I hope this helps!

[@dimrrider9133]

We hate electric cars in the Netherlands because the accus are build by children so its better to keep those posion and dangerous cars away here

[@Chatoyancify]

It might be less relevant to your video, but I'm curious about parking in the cities. I've seen videos that indicate parking is available along the perimeter of a town. If, say, you're a visitor from another town driving in by highway and you need to access an inner street, do you park on the outskirts, then get a public bike to ride to the inner street? If a person owns a car in the city to get to work, do they cycle to their car parking lot every morning? If parking is so expensive, I don't understand how owning a car works. :)

[@Chatoyancify]

@@foppo100 Thank you, that was informative.

[@samseddmedia]

12:35 I've driven on several roundabouts in the United States before, so I know how roundabouts work.

[@philgray3443]

We have them here in Australia too. They are a mystery to about 40% of road users. I last saw an educational notice about driving on TV or in newspapers about 35 years ago. It is so bad that you should never believe any signals that a driver makes on a roundabout. There is one rule. The biggest vehicle wins.

[@Felevr]

I found that country side or urban edge people are more polite and kind compare to people in many big cities, people in big cities drive around as the city is about to get hit by a nuke bomb... so impatient...., But the road infrastructure is well maintain, thats really nice.

[@TheDutchcountryside]

Couldn’t agree more haha, I’m glad you also experienced that. People in big cities are always rushing and think that reaching a destinations 10 seconds quicker is a life or death situation😂 But I’m glad you found the road infrastructure good and well maintained, it’s definitely one of the things we’re pretty good at!

[@HazardousKoh]

Road Information starts at 5:30, the beginning is not really relevant

[@samseddmedia]

11:30 The traffic signals in the Netherlands just turning from red to green? They're almost acting like the traffic signals in the United States! (basically, I'm saying that I'm used to it.)

[@dutchdykefinger]

the red to green without orange/yellow in between there is proabably a result of it being pretty busy so some cyclists may still be given some extra time too, but they just deduct part of that from that yellow light time on the cars instead to not lose all the time to try and avoid congestion most dutch traffic lights are rigged with sensors, so as a cyclist riding home adt night, you may even on an odd ocassion find yourself an orange light that was about to turn red pop back green again instead as you pass over the sensor, and the system then decided there's noone in the car lanes at all, many of them are smart like that and will not let you wait 10 minutes for an emptry road anymore all that much we have quite a lot of "green waves" too for city entrances from the rings for car lanes, a streak of lights go green in front of you, as you travel at the intended speed, any faster, you'll have to break and wiat for it to go green, any slower, you'll have to wait too, those too can last longer depending on other pedestrian/cyclist traffic being measured on the line it's jsut another one of those phsychological jedi mind tricks that serves to both switch traffic efficientyly, as well as have a traffic claming effect :D

[@samiruddinksaind2125]

Please help 🙏 my experience Saudi Arabia 6 years light driver

[@williamgeardener2509]

6:10 "You can drive between 100 and 130 kilometers an hour" is a false statement. Sine 2020 the speed is limited on Dutch highways to 100 km/h from 06.00 till 19.00. Between 19.00 and 06.00 the speed limits are 130 or 120 Km/h. I'd suggest you watch your speed because fines are excessive. Speeding: If you drive 130km/h when it is allowed to drive 100 km/h you will get a fine of at least € 270,-. And those fines increase each year.

[@TheDutchcountryside]

Which is exactly why I said that driving on the highways is between 100 and 130 kilometres an hour. I should've mentioned the exact times yes - but it's not a false statement because sometimes you can drive 100 and sometimes 120 or 130 - and it depends on the location :) And yes, the fines are very hefty!

[@williamgeardener2509]

@@TheDutchcountryside "You can drive between 100 and 130 kilometers an hour" without mentioning the times is a false statement because someone who is not familiar with the schedule might get fined for speeding. "But I was only doing 130 and some lady on KZbin said that it was allowed!!!"

[@TheDutchcountryside]

@@williamgeardener2509 I literally say this in my video just after the '100 and 130 kilometers an hour', and I quote: ‘it depends on the time of day and the part of the highway where you’re driving, which speed you can drive at. So always make sure to watch the road signs.’ That makes it not a false statement, now you're just being petty. Have a good Sunday.

[@Desticia-Sisenna]

@@williamgeardener2509 You're just looking to argue for arguments sake. Which is to say, being a hair splitting ass.

[@aphextwin5712]

@@williamgeardener2509 The problem is that a statement “Within city limits you can drive 50 km/h” is probably understood by everybody to mean that the speed limit within city limits is 50 km/h. But the statement “On the motorway you can drive between 100 and 130 km/h” evidently can be understood to mean that you allowed to drive between 100 and 130 km/h (which thus would include that you are not allowed to drive slower than 100 km/h, at least unless conditions warrant to). That is a not uncommon issue, a given statement can be understood in different ways and when two parties only see (at least initially) their way reading it, a dispute can arise.

[@Gizzmo112]

00:22 no car culture? We have good of Public transport and still a lot of people have cars. A lot of people take pride in their vehicle and there are lots of clubs. Offcourse we are not the US, but it doesnt mean we do not have our own car culture. What about the fact a lot of people own caravans and pulling them all over the place to go on vacation. The kei cars we import from Japan you dont see in other countries in Europe. Also the small cars that can drive on bicycle paths..dont see that anywere else right?

[@TheDutchcountryside]

You're completely right! I guess what I meant to say was that we don't have the kind of car culture many car dependent countries have, because of public transportation and the usual short distances etc., but I didn't think about the other parts that you mentioned. It's actually a very interesting subject the caravan culture etc. Looks like I have some new subjects to hyperfixate on and research haha 😄Thanks!