Illustration of a learner pointing at a round overtaking prohibition sign

Overtaking & Position on the Road

Name: Overtaking & Position on the Road
Author: Chris Prosman

70 Questions

Medium

6 Parts

Learn to overtake safely and to select the correct lane in good time on the right lane for safe participation in traffic. Practice for free with real CBR theory exam questions about overtaking.

Chris Prosman September 4, 2026

Study material

What will you learn?

Overtaking is a risky manoeuvre. This module covers when you are allowed to overtake and how to position yourself correctly in advance.

Reading comfort Dyslexia-friendly

Overtaking & Position on the Road at a glance

Safe lane positioning in advance

Lane positioning in advance means that you adjust your position on the road to the direction you want to go in. This prevents confusion and accidents. Go as close as possible to the side where you want to go—for example, to the right if you are turning right, and to the left if you are turning left. Never position in advance on a zebra crossing, because then you hinder pedestrians.

Driving school car positioned in advance against the road’s centre line at a T-junction, with oncoming traffic

We position in advance here “against the road’s centre line”, so that traffic behind us can possibly overtake.

Positioning in advance at cycle lanes

Cycle lanes are often red or pink and separated by a line. With a continuous line, you may not drive over it, so stay just next to the line. With a broken line, you may drive over it to position in advance, but pay close attention to cyclists and snorfiets riders.

Driving school car positioned in advance for turning right on a red cycle lane with a broken line

You may position in advance on a cycle path to turn right, for example, but only if the cycle path is indicated with broken lines and you do not hinder other cyclists. Even if there are broken lines, you may not cut off cyclists.

Taking account of large vehicles

Lorries and buses need more space to turn. Sometimes you therefore have to position in advance differently than usual—for example, not all the way to the left when turning left, but a bit more to the right to give them room.

Situations A and B next to each other: in B the car is against the kerb, so the bus can make the turn

A bus needs a lot of space to take a turn. That is why it is sensible to position in advance as in situation B (against the kerb): there you can stand better. This gives the bus the space it needs and prevents it getting stuck when entering or leaving the turn.

Multiple lanes and motorways

Stay as far to the right as possible. On roads with multiple lanes, you always choose the rightmost lane that leads in your direction. After overtaking, you return to the right as soon as possible. Matrix signs indicate whether lanes are open or closed. Rush hour lanes (spitsstroken) can be opened temporarily during busy periods.

Overtaking: no overview = do not overtake

Overtaking means driving past someone. You do it via the left, with indicating when moving to the left and when returning to the right. You only return to the right once you can see the front of the overtaken vehicle in your interior mirror. Overtaking is only allowed if you have enough space and enough overview: at an intersection, in a bend on an ordinary road, in fog and at a zebra crossing you do not overtake. A continuous line on your side may not be crossed—except if the rush hour lane is open. Overtaking on the right is only allowed with block markings, in a traffic jam, on or before a roundabout with multiple lanes, at a tram, and when someone is already positioned in advance to the left.

There are only three overtaking signs you need to know. The difference is always for whom the prohibition applies.

Always read such a sign in the same order—shape, colour, image, sub-sign—because that is the exam trap.

Key rule for the exam: a circle with a red border = prohibition, a blue circle = command. Read a sign by shape + image, and read a combination of signs from top to bottom.

How you read a sign

On the exam you lose points because you look at the picture too quickly. Do it in this order:

First check whether the sign is round.
Then look at the colour: red or blue.
Only then look at the image.
Is there a sub-sign next to it? Read that as well—often that is where the exception is.

If the sign is round with a red border, you already know: here a prohibition applies. In an overtaking question, that is usually the core of the answer.

And signs always apply. Even if the situation seems calm, you follow the sign. So with an overtaking prohibition you may not reason: “nobody is coming now anyway, so it’s fine”.

Feature	Meaning	What do you choose on the exam?
Round + red border	Prohibition	Something may not, so in an overtaking image: overtaking prohibited
Round + blue	Command	Something must, for example a compulsory direction of travel
Triangle + red border	Warning	No prohibition, but expect danger
Square/rectangle	Allowed / informative	Not automatically a prohibition or command
Multiple signs stacked	Read together	Read from top to bottom
Main sign + sub-sign	Supplement or exception	Always include the sub-sign in your answer

Pole with multiple traffic signs stacked above each other, read from top to bottom — Read multiple signs from top to bottom as one story.

Traffic signs with different shapes: round with a red border, round blue, triangle and square — First pay attention to the shape, then to the image.

The three signs that are about overtaking

Overtaking prohibition for lorries

A round sign with a red border with a red lorry next to a black car inside. This prohibition applies only to lorries: they may not overtake anyone here. For you as a car driver nothing changes—you may overtake here as normal, including a lorry.

Overtaking prohibition for all motor vehicles

The same round sign, but with two passenger cars in it. This is sign F1 and it applies to all motor vehicles, so also to you. Here you may only overtake bromfietsen, snorfietsen and ordinary bicycles, because those are not motor vehicles.

Sign F1 — overtaking prohibited. Two cars in a red ring: motor vehicles may not overtake each other here. You may still pass bicycles, bromfietsen and snorfietsen.

Sub-sign: overtaking tractors allowed

On roads where many agricultural vehicles drive, sometimes there is a sub-sign under the overtaking prohibition with the text “overtaking tractors allowed”. Then you may pass a slow agricultural vehicle. Note: that does not mean the agricultural vehicle may overtake you.

If that sub-sign is not there, then overtaking an agricultural vehicle is forbidden—because an agricultural vehicle is simply a motor vehicle.

Tractor on a country road with an overtaking prohibition sign and, underneath, the sub-sign overtaking tractors allowed — With a sub-sign you may pass the tractor; without the sub-sign you may not. So the action in this picture is prohibited.

What you see	For whom does the prohibition apply?	May you overtake?
Red lorry next to black car	Only lorries	Yes
Red car next to black car (sign F1)	All motor vehicles, so also you	No — only bicycles, bromfietsen and snorfietsen
Overtaking prohibition with sub-sign “overtaking tractors allowed”	All motor vehicles, except agricultural vehicles	Yes, but only an agricultural vehicle

CBR trap

Students choose the wrong answer in overtaking questions because they recognize the picture but ignore the shape. Then they confuse a warning with a prohibition: a triangle only warns, a round red sign forbids. And skipping the sub-sign is the second classic mistake.

❌ “There is a red lorry on the sign, so I may not overtake here.”
✅ This prohibition applies to lorries. You may overtake here as normal, including that lorry itself.

So the safe exam sequence remains: shape, colour, image, sub-sign.

You've covered Overtaking: overtaking prohibition signs. Does it stick?

In some places overtaking is not allowed anyway, no matter how much space you think you have. All five have the same reason: you cannot see what is coming.

The exam sentence you have to know by heart here: no overview = do not overtake.

Key rule for the exam: no overview = do not overtake. All the places below have the same reason: you cannot see what is coming.

At an intersection

At an intersection you may not overtake. There you do not have a good overview of traffic that may be coming.

Even if the driver in front of you turns right, you may not just drive past. You still cannot see properly whether traffic is coming from the right.

There is another second reason, and students almost always forget it: as long as you are driving next to another vehicle, that vehicle is between you and everything that happens to the right of you. You cannot see traffic from the right—and that traffic cannot see you either.

Intersection where the car in front of you is turning right and you may not pass because you cannot see traffic from the right — At an intersection you choose: do not overtake.

In a bend on an ordinary road

On ordinary roads you may not overtake in a bend. You cannot see whether an oncoming vehicle is coming before you take the bend.

On the motorway you may overtake in a bend, because there is one-way traffic there. Still pay attention to space: large vehicles take the bend more widely and therefore leave you less room to drive next to them.

Car behind a slower vehicle in a bend on an ordinary road, where you have no visibility of oncoming traffic — Bend on an ordinary road: no overview, so do not overtake.

In fog or other poor visibility

If you cannot see far enough through fog, you do not overtake. The same decision rule, different cause.

Road with fog where you cannot see far enough ahead to know whether an oncoming vehicle is coming — With fog it is exactly the same: no overview = do not overtake.

At a zebra crossing

At a zebra crossing, overtaking is always forbidden. While overtaking, you see worse whether someone wants to cross.

Zebra crossing with a car that may not pass because crossing pedestrians are then poorly visible — Seen a zebra crossing? Overtaking is forbidden there.

If someone else is already overtaking

In most cases you may not also start overtaking if another vehicle is already busy overtaking. For example, if you see that a scooter is overtaking a cyclist, then you wait.

Even if they keep driving next to each other, you stay behind them. Cyclists and scooters are vulnerable and the road is often narrow in such places. Do not take unnecessary risks and wait until there is more space to pass both of them at once.

Scooter overtaking a cyclist on a narrow road, with a car waiting behind — Someone else is already overtaking: you wait until there is space.

Five situations in a row

Situation	May you overtake?	Why
Intersection	No	You cannot see traffic from the right, and it cannot see you.
Bend on an ordinary road	No	You cannot see whether an oncoming vehicle is coming.
Bend on the motorway	Yes	One-way traffic, so no oncoming vehicles.
Fog	No	Insufficient visibility.
At a zebra crossing	No	People crossing are harder to see.
Someone else is already overtaking	Usually not	Wait until that driver is finished.

If it is allowed according to this list, then the line on the road determines whether it really is possible—see Road markings for overtaking. How you carry out the overtaking manoeuvre afterwards is described in Overtaking: may that be asked.

Example situations like at the CBR

Situation 1

You are driving on an ordinary road behind a car. There is a bend in front of you and you cannot see whether oncoming vehicles are coming.

Correct choice: do not overtake.

Situation 2

You are driving behind a car that wants to turn right at an intersection. There is plenty of space on the left.

Correct choice: do not overtake. At an intersection it remains forbidden, even if the other person makes the road clear.

Situation 3

A scooter in front of you overtakes a cyclist. You think you can pass them in one go.

Correct choice: wait. As long as someone else is busy overtaking, you stay behind them.

You've covered Overtaking: in which situation questions. Does it stick?

If it is allowed at this location, then the question is how you do it. Overtaking is done via the left, with indicating when moving out to the left and when returning.

Overtaking on the right is only allowed in five fixed cases. If you cannot fit your situation into one of those, the answer is no.

Key rule for the exam: you overtake via the left, with indicating when moving to the left and when returning to the right. Overtaking on the right is only allowed in five fixed cases.

What overtaking exactly is

Overtaking means driving past someone. Whether that is possible depends on two things: the difference in speed between you and the other traffic, and the situation around you.

If it is safe, you switch on your indicator, move one lane to the left, drive past on the left, and then return to the right. When you return, you indicate again, because you change lanes again.

Car that moves into a lane to the left, drives past the other vehicle, and then returns to the right lane — Overtake via the left and then return to the right.

Stay as far to the right as possible—also during overtaking

If you are on a road with three lanes and you want to overtake the traffic to the right of you, then you do that via the middle lane, not via the leftmost lane. Using the leftmost lane when it is not necessary is called unnecessary driving on the left—and you can get a fine for it.

When may you go back to the right?

Not on instinct. The fixed rule is: you only return to the right when you see the front of the overtaken vehicle in your interior mirror. Then you are sure you have passed far enough to not cut anyone off.

Interior mirror in which you can see the front of the vehicle you have just overtaken — Do you see the front of the other person in your interior mirror? Then you only go back to the right.

Enough space? Otherwise you wait

You may only overtake if there is enough space. If another driver has to be able to merge, then it can mean that you still have to wait with overtaking—otherwise your manoeuvre takes away exactly the space that they need.

Motorway where a car has to merge, so you cannot yet overtake the vehicle in front of you — Does someone need to merge? Then waiting is often the right choice.

Conversely, there is an exception to “immediately back to the right”: if you are driving close to merging traffic, then staying on the left can be the wiser choice, so there remains space to merge.

Car that keeps driving a bit to the left after overtaking because there is merging traffic — With merging traffic, you do not have to go back to the right immediately.

Overtaking on the right: five exceptions

Normally you do not overtake via the right. There are five situations in which it is allowed:

Block markings. If you drive to the right of the block markings, for example at an exit or a turn-off on the motorway, then you may pass the traffic on the left of them.
Traffic jam. If your lane is moving a bit faster than the lane to your left, then you may.
Roundabout. On or just before a roundabout with multiple lanes.
Tram. You overtake a tram on the right.
Someone who has positioned in advance to the left. If a driver is waiting to turn left and there is space on the right, then you do not have to wait with them. Note: you may only cross a cycle lane if there is a broken line there.

Driver positioned to the left in advance to turn, with a car passing them on the right — If someone is positioned in advance to the left, then you may pass them on the right.

If nothing in this list matches your situation, then the answer is no. Annoyance does not count—see Overtaking: other situations for the driver who stays stuck on the left.

CBR trap

“I’m past, so I’ll go back to the right immediately.” Not always. With merging traffic, staying on the left can be the right choice—and otherwise you wait until you see their front in your interior mirror.
“There is space, so I may overtake.” Space is not enough. First check whether the spot allows it (In which situation questions) and whether the line allows it (Road markings for overtaking).
“Three lanes, so I’ll take the left lane.” That is unnecessary driving on the left. You overtake via the lane directly to the left of you.

You've covered Overtaking: may that be asked. Does it stick?

Sometimes the answer is not determined by the location or the line, but by the vehicle that you are passing: a breakdown, a rider, or your own trailer.

And it works both ways—the CBR also asks what you do when someone else overtakes you.

Key rule for the exam: it is not about the location or the line here, but about the vehicle you are passing— or about the driver who is passing you.

A temporarily stationary vehicle

If someone is temporarily stationary due to breakdown or due to loading and unloading, you can usually drive past them slowly. That is not an overtaking action in the normal sense: the vehicle is not driving.

But first check whether there are no oncoming vehicles. If a car is coming, you wait until it has passed before you use the other half of the road.

Stationary lorry with a warning triangle on a narrow street, with oncoming traffic approaching — With breakdown or loading and unloading, you may only pass once the oncoming traffic allows it.

Overtaking a rider

With a rider, you absolutely may not use your horn. The sound can startle the horse, and then its behaviour becomes unpredictable—posing a risk of serious injury to the rider and damage to your car.

What you do instead: reduce your speed, move aside if necessary, and overtake calmly.

Car passing a rider on horseback at reduced speed and with extra lateral space — With a rider you choose calm overtaking and never use your horn.

With a trailer on the motorway

If you are driving with a trailer and you are therefore longer than 7 metres, then on the motorway you may only use the two right lanes. Overtaking lorries is allowed, but with a trailer you may not drive faster than 90 km/h.

You do not need to go faster either: lorries are allowed to drive only 80 km/h themselves, so with 90 km/h you still overtake them.

Two situations on a three-lane motorway: a combination longer than 7 metres on the leftmost lane (wrong) and within the two right lanes (correct) — With a combination longer than 7 metres you use only the two right lanes.

Being overtaken

On the exam you do not only get questions about your own overtaking action. If an other person overtakes you, behaviour from you is also expected. Other drivers do not always behave predictably, even if you do everything correctly yourself.

Give space and do not drive faster. Driving faster while someone is overtaking you makes the overtaking action longer and therefore more dangerous.
Is someone not managing it? Then reduce your speed so that that driver can merge in front of you.
Did an oncoming vehicle misjudge the distance or speed? Move as far to the right as possible and reduce your speed so that it can pass you safely. This prevents a head-on collision.

Oncoming vehicle that has too little space during its overtaking action, with a car moving out to the right and slowing down — If someone else misjudges, then making space is your job.

The driver who keeps getting stuck on the left

If someone keeps driving unnecessarily on the leftmost lane of the motorway, you can only do one thing: wait and move back to the right yourself. Overtaking on the right is not allowed here—annoyance is not in the list of exceptions—and waiting on the left lane is also not allowed.

Car that keeps driving unnecessarily on the leftmost lane, with traffic behind it that cannot pass — You may not just overtake someone on the left on the right.

Making space for merging traffic

If you see traffic merging, you can adjust your speed. But if it is possible, moving over a lane is better: if the lane to your left is empty, then move there for a moment. That is not only considerate, it is also safer.

Pay extra attention after a viaduct. A viaduct is a bridge over the road. The drivers you see driving over it often come onto your side a little later via the slip road. If you see cars merging in the distance, then move to the left in advance.

Car that moves into a lane to the left to give space to merging traffic on the motorway — Is the left lane free? Then move over instead of only braking.

You've covered Overtaking: other situations. Does it stick?

In overtaking questions, the CBR often first looks at the line on the road. That directly determines whether you may cross or must wait.

You must be able to recognize five quickly: broken line, warning line, continuous line, hatched road markings and yellow temporary marking.

Key rule for the exam: you may not cross a continuous line; you may cross a broken line. And you only look at the line on your side of the road.

Recognize immediately which marking you see

Broken white line

Normal broken lines with clear space between them may be crossed. In an exam question, that usually means that overtaking or changing lanes according to the marking is allowed.

Warning line

Sometimes the lines are so close together that it almost looks like a continuous line. This is a warning for a changing situation on the road. Overtaking is then not prohibited, but it is better to wait until you have passed that change.

Continuous line

You may not cross a continuous line. In an overtaking question, this is often the decision point immediately: if you have to cross that line before overtaking, then it is not allowed.

Exception: the open rush hour lane

A rush hour lane is separated from the carriageway by a continuous line. If that rush hour lane is open—green arrow pointing down above the lane—then you may cross that line to drive onto it, and therefore also to overtake. After that you simply go back to the right. This is the only exception to the continuous line that you must know.

Motorway with a rush hour lane separated by a continuous line and opened with a green arrow — An open rush hour lane is the exception to the continuous line.

Hatched road markings

You may also not drive over hatched road markings. So you may not drive over them at the last moment to still move over or overtake. One exception: if the hard shoulder is open, then you may drive over hatched road markings.

Yellow marking during roadworks

Yellow markings on the road go before white markings. So during roadworks you follow the yellow marking, even if the old white lines are still visible.

This also applies when the lines cross each other: if a continuous yellow line runs over a broken white line, then you may not cross it. A yellow line always has priority over a white line.

Temporary yellow lines over the white lines during roadworks — If you see yellow over white, then you follow yellow.

Continuous and broken next to each other

This is a classic exam question. You only pay attention to the line on your side of the road.

Broken on your side: you may overtake.
Continuous on your side: you may not overtake— but traffic on the other side may.

Road with a continuous line next to a broken line, with a car on the side of the broken line — Only the side with the broken line may cross the marking.

❌ “There is a broken line, so I may overtake.”
✅ Only if that broken line is on your side. If the continuous line is on your side, then you may not— the other person may.

May / may not

Road marking	Overtaking or changing lanes	Exam-focused explanation
Broken white line	May	You may cross the line.
Warning line	In principle it is allowed, but preferably not	Not prohibited, but a warning for a changing situation.
Continuous line	May not	You may not cross the line.
Continuous line with an open rush hour lane	May	The only exception to the continuous line.
Continuous + broken next to each other	Only from the side of the broken line	Always check which line is on your side.
Hatched road markings	May not	Do not use it to move over quickly or to overtake.
Hatched road markings with open hard shoulder	May	This is the exception.
Yellow marking during roadworks	Follow yellow	Yellow markings take priority over white markings.

Students often choose here “warning line = overtaking prohibited”. That is incorrect: it is not a prohibition, but it is a clear signal that the situation is changing and that waiting is usually the safe choice.

You've covered Road markings for overtaking. Does it stick?

Good positioning before turning means that you move into the correct place on the road before you turn off. This clearly shows other drivers what you intend to do.

For the CBR, this part is about your place on the road: to the right for turning right, against the centre line for turning left, with exceptions for cycle lanes, one-way streets and roundabouts.

Key rule for the exam: position yourself as far forward as possible before turning off towards the side you want to go to. Watch the exceptions: you may not block a zebra crossing; at cycle lanes the line determines what is allowed; and at a roundabout you follow the arrows per lane.

Your place on the road when turning off

Positioning is mainly communication: you show other drivers what you intend to do, and that helps prevent accidents. If you stay all the way on the far right while you want to turn left, everyone will assume you are going straight on.

The main rule is simple: move in advance to the place where your turn makes sense for other drivers.

Turning right: position yourself as far to the right on your lane as possible.
Turning left: position yourself as far against the centre line of the road as possible.
Road without a centre line: even then you position yourself as far as possible towards the middle of the road for turning left.
Not too far to the left: you may not get onto the oncoming traffic lane.
Never on a zebra crossing: you may not position yourself there, because you hinder or block pedestrians.

Car positioned as far to the right as possible on its own lane for turning right — Turning right: as far to the right as possible on your own lane.

Driving school car positioned against the centre line of the road at a T-junction, with oncoming traffic — Turning left means: against the centre line, but not on the other carriageway.

Road without a centre line, on which a car for turning left is positioned as close as possible to the middle — Even without a line, you stay as close as possible to the middle for turning left.

Junction with a zebra crossing where a car is positioned and thus blocks pedestrians crossing — Do not block a zebra crossing and do not hinder pedestrians when positioning yourself.

One-way street: you may go further left

On a normal road with oncoming traffic, for turning left you position yourself against the middle. On a one-way street there is no oncoming traffic, so you may position yourself all the way to the left for turning left.

Do you see a median between two directions? Then it is actually two separate one-way streets. Even then you position yourself for turning left as far left as possible.

Car positioned all the way to the left for turning left on a one-way street — On a one-way street, you may position yourself all the way to the left for turning left.

Cycle lane: look first at the line

Within a built-up area, you can recognise a cycle lane by the red or pink colour and the cycle symbol on the road surface. It is located at the side of the carriageway and is separated from it by a continuous line or a broken line. That line determines everything.

Situation	May you cross the line?	Where do you position yourself?
Cycle lane with continuous line	No	As close as possible to the line, without driving over it
Cycle lane with broken line	Yes	You may use the cycle lane to position yourself in advance, but that is not required

In both cases, you pay close attention to cyclists and snorfiets riders. You may not cut them off.

Red cycle lane with a continuous line, with the car next to it on the carriageway — Continuous line: you stay on the carriageway, close to the line.

Car positioned on a red cycle lane with a broken line — With a broken line you may position yourself in advance, but you may not cut cyclists off.

Large vehicles: sometimes not strictly to the left

Normally, for turning left you position yourself against the centre line. But with a lorry or bus you sometimes need to leave more space, because large vehicles need more room to turn. This can mean that, even if you want to turn left, you position yourself further to the right on the carriageway.

This applies regardless of whether the large vehicle is coming from the left or from the right. If you are far forward and tight against the centre line, the lorry will not have enough space to turn. A bit back and more to the right is the correct answer — even if it looks “wrong” for turning left.

Two situations A and B side by side, with an oncoming bus that has to make the turn — In situation B, the bus has enough turning circle left — that is the correct exam answer.

Multiple lanes: choose the furthest right lane for your direction

In the Netherlands, on roads with multiple lanes you always keep to the furthest right lane for the direction you want to go in.

Are two or more lanes going in the same direction? Then choose the furthest right of those lanes.
Does a lane have multiple directions, for example turning left and going straight on? Then you still choose the furthest right lane that allows your direction.
You may not cross a continuous line between lanes.

At a traffic light, a car is standing on the left lane while the lane to its right also goes in the same direction — Do not just choose a free lane; choose the furthest right for your direction.

Traffic light with arrows on the road surface, where a lane allows both turning left and going straight on — Even with combined arrows, you choose the furthest right lane that is allowed.

Roundabout: the arrows on the road surface are leading

A roundabout is an exception to the rule of positioning as far right as possible.

At a roundabout with multiple lanes, look at the arrows that indicate which lane leads to which exit.
If you want to take an exit that is not possible from the right lane, then positioning to the right has no point.
Do two lanes lead to your exit? Then you may use both.

Roundabout with arrows on the road surface indicating which lane leads to which exit — At a roundabout you follow the arrows per lane, not only the main rule of keeping as far right as possible.