Any time you are on the Netherlands streets you need to be aware of the regulations for pedestrians, bicycles and cars. At some point you may be in a situation where you need to buy or rent a car and if you cant read the street signs you can become a threat to yourself and those around you. The same applies while you are on a bike. You need to be able to read and obey Netherlands traffic signs.
Europe uses the same standardized set of road signs all over. If you are familiar with one, then Netherlands traffic signs will be no different. These types of signs typically show an image rather than words, so they are easier to understand if you don’t speak or read the local language
Typically
- Diamond signs indicate priority
- Red triangles are warnings
- Red circles are restrictions
- Blue circles are requirements
- Squares and rectangles give guidance
The color red on a European road sign indicates negative information, such as a warning or illegal action.
The Dutch Ministry of Transport has put together this in-depth 84 page PDF in English for Road traffic signs and regulations in the Netherlands to help you understand all of the unique Netherlands Traffic Signs and regulations while on NL roads. If you are going to be spending any time in the country you should familiarize yourself with these. It could mean the difference between life and death.
The folks over at Bicycle Dutch put together a couple infographics below detailing differences in traffic sings between NL, UK, USA and AUS. As you can tell most are quite similar, but there are differences. Take a moment to review the Netherlands traffic signs to help make the roads and sidewalks safer for everyone.
