Is there a minimum speed on the motorway?
There is often a lot of confusion about this question. The short answer: No. There is no minimum speed. Otherwise, you would have a problem driving in a traffic jam. But where does this confusion come from? We are happy to explain it to you. Want to learn more? With iTheorie you will learn everything!
Are you allowed to drive here at 60 km/h?
This is a question you may encounter in your theory exam.
You might think this is allowed, because the minimum speed on the motorway is 60 km/h, right? But no, this is not the case. There is no minimum speed on the motorway. Whether you are allowed to drive at 60 km/h depends entirely on the speed of the other traffic. Is everyone driving at 80 to 130 km/h and there is no traffic jam or congestion? Then driving at 60 km/h will cause hinder or even danger. In Article 5 of the Road Traffic Act, it states that you must not cause danger or hinder. Driving that much slower than the rest is therefore legally prohibited.
If traffic is moving more slowly, for example 60–70 km/h, then driving at 60 km/h is usually fine.
In a still image, you cannot of course see speeds. But in this image, there is hardly anyone there and the rush-hour lane is closed. You may then assume that everyone is driving at around 80–100 km/h. Driving at 60 km/h is therefore not safe, so the answer is ‘No’.
Minimum construction speed on flow roads
But where does that 60 km/h come from? Because you do need to know that number. Here is how it works.
For flow roads — these are autowegen and motorways — there is a minimum construction speed. This means that your vehicle must be capable of reaching a certain speed and must also be legally allowed to drive at that speed in order to use an autoweg or motorway. For autowegen, the minimum construction speed is 50 km/h and for motorways it is 60 km/h.
This prevents you from entering a flow road with a moped. This would be extremely dangerous, regardless of how fast it can go.
But why is it not allowed in this case to drive at 60 km/h?
Even though, with a vehicle that can just about reach and is allowed to drive at 60 km/h, you are not in violation of the minimum construction speed requirement, you are still not allowed to cause danger or hinder. You must therefore always comply with both rules.
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