Understanding the Road Layout
Key Definitions
To navigate safely, you must first understand the components of the road. The carriageway is the part of the road specifically designed for vehicle traffic. The hard shoulder is the strip to the side of the carriageway, intended for specific users and emergency situations. A crest is a point where two road sections with different gradients meet, often resulting in limited visibility.
General Lane Discipline
Proper lane discipline is crucial for traffic flow and safety. The rules vary depending on the type of road:
- Interurban Roads & Motorways: The fundamental rule is to always drive in the right-hand lane. The other lanes are to be used only for overtaking, after which you must return to the right-hand lane. Cruising in the left or central lanes is not permitted.
- Urban Roads (Built-up Areas): Within towns and cities, you may choose the lane that best suits your destination. You should only leave this lane to overtake, turn, stop, or park. On unmarked one-way urban roads, you should still default to the right-hand lane, using others only when necessary. On unmarked two-way urban roads with two lanes per direction, use the right lane and the second lane only for overtaking.
- Specific Road Configurations: On two-way roads with a central refuge or island, you must pass to the right of it. On one-way carriageways with a central island, you may pass on either side. On three-lane, two-way roads, the central lane is exclusively for overtaking in either direction or for turning left.
Special Use Lanes
Certain lanes are designated for specific purposes and have strict rules governing their use. Lanes reserved for specific vehicles, such as bus lanes, do not count as normal-use lanes for general traffic.
Reserved and High-Occupancy Lanes
- Bus Lanes: As a general rule, these are off-limits to private cars and motorcycles. You may not stop or park in a bus lane. You may only cross a bus lane over a broken line to perform a manoeuvre other than stopping, parking, changing direction, or overtaking.
- HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle) Lanes: These are typically reserved for motorcycles, private cars, and vehicles carrying a minimum number of occupants. Cars towing trailers are prohibited from using HOV lanes.
Situational and Temporary Lanes
- Reversible Lanes: Marked by double broken lines on each side, traffic flow in these lanes can be changed. Vehicles in a reversible lane must never cross the line into the lane on their left.
- Contraflow/Additional Lanes: These lanes are opened to ease congestion, often in the opposite direction of normal traffic. When using a contraflow or additional lane, you must have at least your dipped headlights on, day or night. Lanes opened for traffic flow are typically restricted to motorcycles and cars without trailers. However, lanes opened due to roadworks may be used by all authorised vehicles, including those with trailers, unless a sign prohibits it. You cannot move from a contraflow lane into a normal-direction lane, even to overtake.
Deceleration Lanes
To exit a high-speed road like a motorway, you must first position your vehicle in the lane closest to the exit. You then move into the deceleration lane to slow down safely without disrupting the flow of traffic on the main carriageway.
The Hard Shoulder: Rules and Users
The hard shoulder is not a driving lane. Its use is strictly regulated.
Permitted Uses
The hard shoulder is primarily for emergencies and breakdowns. If your vehicle breaks down and is forced to travel at an abnormally reduced speed, creating a risk of a rear-end collision, you must activate your hazard warning lights. On a motorway, if the breakdown is seriously disrupting traffic, you must use the hard shoulder and leave at the first available exit.
Vehicles Required to Use the Hard Shoulder
Certain vehicles must use the hard shoulder if it is passable and of sufficient width:
- Mopeds
- Bicycles and cyclists (on dual carriageways, not motorways)
- Vehicles for people with reduced mobility
- Special agricultural vehicles (e.g., tractors under 3,500 kg)
- Wheelchair users, with proper precautions
- Livestock being herded
If no hard shoulder exists, these users must travel as close as possible to the right-hand edge of the carriageway.
Prohibited Uses
General traffic, including cars, must not drive on the hard shoulder. Using it to bypass heavy traffic to reach an exit is strictly forbidden. Cyclists are never permitted on motorway hard shoulders, though cyclists over 14 may use dual carriageway hard shoulders unless a sign prohibits it.
Rules for Vulnerable Road Users
Pedestrians
- Positioning: Outside built-up areas, pedestrians must walk on the left, facing oncoming traffic. They may use the right side if it is demonstrably safer. If a pedestrian zone or hard shoulder is missing or impassable, they may use the carriageway.
- Prohibitions: Pedestrians are prohibited from motorways and dual carriageways. They must also go around squares and roundabouts, never crossing through the middle.
- Visibility: At night, on roads outside built-up areas, pedestrians must wear a reflective item visible from at least 150 metres.
- Pushing Vehicles: A person pushing a bicycle or a two-wheeled moped is considered a pedestrian but must walk on the right-hand side, using the hard shoulder or the edge of the carriageway.
Cyclists and Mopeds
- Positioning: Cyclists and moped riders must use the hard shoulder where available. If there is no hard shoulder, they must ride as close as possible to the right-hand edge of the carriageway.
- Riding Abreast: Cyclists may ride two abreast on the right where visibility is good and they are not causing a traffic obstruction. Mopeds may also ride two abreast on a wide, passable hard shoulder, but must not encroach on the main carriageway.
- Prohibitions: Mopeds, bicycles, and other slow vehicles are banned from motorways. Mopeds are also banned from dual carriageways.
Specific Vehicle and Driving Regulations
Vehicles Towing Trailers or Over 7 Metres
Large vehicle combinations have lane restrictions. Those over 7 metres in length may generally only use the right-hand lane and the one immediately adjacent to it on roads with three or more lanes in their direction. However, car-trailer combinations under 7 metres long may use any of the lanes.
Breakdowns and Emergencies
If your vehicle breaks down on a motorway, you must try to move it onto the hard shoulder and exit as soon as possible. Towing a broken-down vehicle on a motorway must be done by a certified tow truck, not another passenger car. If you are forced to drive at an abnormally low speed, posing a danger to others, you must use your hazard warning lights.
Prohibited Activities
Certain activities are strictly forbidden on public roads to ensure safety:
- Speed Competitions: Racing is prohibited unless expressly authorised by the relevant authorities.
- Hitchhiking: It is illegal to hitchhike or to pick up hitchhikers on motorways and dual carriageways, including at toll plazas.
- Reversing: Reversing on motorways and dual carriageways is strictly prohibited.