Challenge
Almost every student answers 'yes, blue' — it is the colour everyone remembers from mandatory-direction signs. The CBR exam designer counts on exactly that: whoever has the sign's colour wrong also misses why agricultural vehicles may still pass it, and why there are four other ways to overtake on the right without ever seeing this sign at all.
Read this section on its own page: Challenge: Overtaking: the F1 sign and the five exceptions to left-overtaking
The model
No — the F1 sign has a RED border and a WHITE background, not a blue background (Book p.145). And overtaking on the right is also possible without this sign: right before/at roundabouts, to the right of a block marking, in a traffic jam, past a left-pre-sorting driver, or past a tram — five exceptions to the 'overtake on the left' rule (Book p.141).
Read this section on its own page: The model: Overtaking: the F1 sign and the five exceptions to left-overtaking
Core
First the distinction the book itself makes (Book p.140): overtaking (inhalen) is passing a moving driver going the same direction; passing (voorbijgaan) is passing something stationary — a parked vehicle, an obstacle, a pedestrian. The main rule is: overtake on the left. Overtaking on the right is only allowed in five, explicitly named, cases (Book p.141): right before and at roundabouts; when you are driving to the right of a block marking; when overtaking a traffic jam; when the driver being overtaken has already pre-sorted left and is signalling left; when the vehicle being overtaken is a tram. The F1 sign belongs to the overtake-on-the-left main rule: it is a round sign with a RED border and a WHITE background, showing a black car overtaking a red car (Book p.145) — not a blue sign. It prohibits motor vehicles from overtaking EACH OTHER; agricultural vehicles may still be overtaken at this sign. F2 shows the end of that prohibition (grey/white with a diagonal stripe); F3 is the same prohibition but specifically for lorries (red border, truck icons); F4 shows the end of that one. Two other places where overtaking is prohibited regardless of any sign: right before or at a pedestrian crossing (zebra crossing), and at a solid line between lanes — unless that line is combined with a dashed line on YOUR side, in which case you may overtake.
Read this section on its own page: Core: Overtaking: the F1 sign and the five exceptions to left-overtaking
Why it matters
Whoever misreads the F1 sign misses the exact moment overtaking becomes prohibited — and on the narrow provincial roads around Kruiningen, where verges are absent and oncoming traffic passes close by, that is exactly where a mistake here becomes life-threatening. And whoever only knows the traffic-jam exception overlooks the other four safe right-overtaking opportunities, or worse: tries to overtake on the left at a roundabout where that is not the intended manoeuvre at all.
Read this section on its own page: Why it matters: Overtaking: the F1 sign and the five exceptions to left-overtaking
Frequently asked questions
‘The 'no overtaking' sign (F1) is a round sign with a BLUE background’ – is that true?
No. The icon is unambiguously a RED border on a WHITE background, with a black car overtaking a red car. Red border = prohibition sign, like the rest of the F-series (F1-F4)
‘Overtaking on the right is only allowed with stationary or slow-moving traffic, such as in a traffic jam’ – is that true?
No. There are FIVE exceptions: right before/at roundabouts, driving to the right of a block marking, overtaking a traffic jam, a driver who has signalled left and pre-sorted left, and overtaking a tram. The traffic jam is only one of them
‘At the F1 sign (no overtaking) you may also not overtake an agricultural vehicle’ – is that true?
No. F1 prohibits motor vehicles from overtaking EACH OTHER; agricultural vehicles may still be overtaken at this sign
‘At a combined line (one dashed, one solid) you may never overtake, whichever side you are driving on’ – is that true?
No. At a combined line you may overtake if the DASHED line is on your side; the prohibition only applies if the solid line is on your side
‘Overtaking at a pedestrian crossing (zebra crossing) is only prohibited if there is a no-overtaking sign’ – is that true?
No. Right before or at a pedestrian crossing overtaking is ALWAYS prohibited, even without a no-overtaking sign
