Basic traffic rules

General traffic rules

•  There is an order of priority to be followed when several instructions are given at the same time, which is; 1) police signals 2) traffic signals 3) road signs 4) traffic rules.
•  One of the basic (or fundamental) traffic rules is that you shall give special consideration to children, school crossing patrols, elderly, and the disabled.
• Someone walking with a bicycle or on ski's, ice skates, a skateboard or roller skates is considered a pedestrian.
• You´re not permitted to drive at a very low speed while lacking a valid reason to do so.
• Everyone who is either on a road or in a vehicle on a road is considered a road user. So this includes people who are traveling by foot, cycling or for instance on a skateboard as well.
• Your driving licence may be revoked if a violation, even a seemingly small violation, is not concidered to be small. This could be for instance if you would often show an unwillingness to obey regulations and therefore compromise traffic safety.
• Literally always following the rules without any exception is not the optimal way of thinking, because the traffic rules can not cover all possible situations that can take place. In a very uncommon situation you should be able to show a good judgement to that specific situation.
• Be aware that certain rules can be different among municipalities, for example rules regarding stopping or parking of vehicles, or deviating from other basic regulations.
• Speed adjustment means that you adjust your speed to the traffic situation, which also means that in some cases you should drive slower that the speed limit but not always. Also, be aware that following other road users' pace isn't always good as well, for example if many of them are driving too fast.

The use of indicators

• Indicators shall be used in the following situations: 1) when changing lanes, turning around or off a lane, or moving sideways 2) when pulling out from a curb or parking space 3) when exiting a roundabout.
• In a roundabout (image 1) you´re always obliged to signal to the right when leaving the roundabout, as well as to signal left or right when changing lanes in the roundabout. But you do not have to signal when entering a roundabout.

Image 1: Roundabout

• If you´re driving a vehicle that has no indicators then you can still drive it, however you must show your intent (that means; if you are going left or right) by extending your arm.

Rules regarding some specific situations

• If you would have moved, damaged or altered either a road sign, a road marking, a traffic signal or any other traffic device then you should immediately try to restore it as sufficient as possible. If this is not possible then you should either contact the police or person/agency who placed it there.
• If you have damaged someone elses property then you should try to contact the owner of it, if that isn´t possible than you should contact the police.
• If an emergency vehicle has its sirenes and/or their rotating blue lights on, then you should clear a path for it. If not, they are to be considered as any other road vehicle.
• Driving from a private road onto a public road is considered like any other situation or junction. If there aren't any traffic signals or road signs then basic traffic rules apply (the right hand rule). However, you should be careful because not all road users see the private road as a "normal road" and therefore automatically think they have priority.
• If you reach a junction where you have to give way according to a B1 ‘give way’ sign, as in this picture (image 2), then you do not necessarilly always have to stop. If there aren't any other road users on the intersecting road then you do not have to stop and thus can drive immediately. However, if there would have been a stop sign posted, then you would be obliged to stop.

Image 2: Junction with obligation to give way