Access road

Access roads are located in residential areas and provide access to homes, businesses, schools, shops, and so on. This means that residential functions are more important here than traffic functions, and all types of traffic mix here: pedestrians, cyclists, snorfietsen, mopeds, cars, and trucks. Due to the significant difference in mass between road users and the fact that pedestrians and cyclists are largely unprotected, the speed of motorised traffic on access roads must be low.

Within built-up areas.

Access roads within built-up areas have a speed limit of 30 km/h. To support this limit, physical speed limiters are typically installed, such as chicanes, speed bumps, and flower boxes.
In addition to 30 kilometers per hour access roads, there are also erven, as shown in the image above. There, the speed limit is 15 kilometers per hour, and pedestrians are allowed to use the entire width of the road for walking and playing. Erven are not only found in residential areas, but also in shopping and station areas.

Outside built-up areas.

The two images above show an access road outside built-up areas.
On access roads outside built-up areas, the speed limit is 60 km/h. All these roads are designed for a 60 km/h speed limit.

Many people are familiar with a green line, which indicates that you are driving on an autoweg with a speed limit of 100 km/h. The purple line is new. It is not yet legally regulated, but is currently being tested. The test means you are currently driving on a road with a 60 km/h speed limit.

However, suppose you encounter a road like this at the CBR with only a sign indicating outside built-up areas, but without a sign indicating a 60 km/h speed limit or a 60 km/h zone. In that case, you must enter 80 km/h as the speed limit.

Very strange, because almost all access roads in the Netherlands are designated as 60 km/h zones. It’s even stranger to drive 80 kilometers per hour on roads that aren’t divided into two or more lanes. Therefore, pay close attention to the images and speed limit signs at the CBR.

In special situations, such as when the access road is a parallel road with only local traffic, at a major pedestrian crossing, or on access roads in quiet areas and hamlets, a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour can be imposed.

The physical speed limiters on access roads outside built-up areas are generally limited to intersections. These intersections are then constructed on a raised platform.
Bicycle lanes or suggested lanes with a broken line are often created on these sections of road. This creates a lane for motor vehicles in the center of the road. This leads to a visual narrowing of the road and therefore to a lower driving speed. If there is sufficient width, cyclists can use the curbs on either side of the road. A curb is usually not present on an access road.

Below are two more images that were used by the government for information a few years ago.