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Finally: watch for traffic coming up behind you, both before you move into position and again right before you actually turn — turning left therefore requires checking in two directions at once, forward and behind.

Source: RVV 1990 art. 18 · checked 2026-10-23

How the exam asks it

You are driving on a wide road through Groningen and want to turn left. An oncoming car at the same junction also wants to turn left, with no other special circumstances. How do you normally pass each other?

  1. Left-past-left (passing in front of each other)
  2. Right-past-right, just like two cars both going straight
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Correct answer: Left-past-left (passing in front of each other)

False — For two oncoming drivers both turning left, 'left-past-left' is the main rule, not 'right-past-right'

Why learners get this wrong: Two oncoming drivers who both want to turn left pass each other, as the main rule, right around right.

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Statement: 'left-past-left' always applies when two oncoming drivers both want to turn left, without any exception.

  1. True
  2. False
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Correct answer: False

Why learners get this wrong: If you and an oncoming driver both want to turn left, you always pass left-past-left — that is a fixed rule with no exceptions.

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In which situations does 'left-past-left' NOT apply when two oncoming drivers both want to turn left? (multiple answers possible)

  1. There is a wide central reservation
  2. The oncoming driver has already clearly committed to a different position
  3. Road markings indicate otherwise
  4. It is raining
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Correct answer: There is a wide central reservation; The oncoming driver has already clearly committed to a different position; Road markings indicate otherwise

False — Rain is not one of the three named exceptions to 'left-past-left'

Why learners get this wrong: Rain is one of the situations in which 'left around left' does not apply.

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At a junction in Zwolle you want to turn left. An oncoming car is coming straight on in the lane beside you, while another oncoming car wants to turn right at the same time. Who do you give way to?

  1. Both — the straight-ahead and the right-turning oncoming traffic
  2. Only the straight-ahead oncoming traffic, the right-turning car does not need to be given way to
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Correct answer: Both — the straight-ahead and the right-turning oncoming traffic

Why learners get this wrong: When turning left you only give way to oncoming traffic going straight; oncoming traffic that is itself turning right does not need to be given way to.

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At a junction in Zwolle you turn left into an ordinary two-way street. There is no oncoming traffic. How do you take the turn?

  1. Wide, so that you end up on the right-hand half of the new street
  2. Tight, cutting the corner, as you also do when turning right
  3. In an arc over the middle, and afterwards you move over to the right
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Correct answer: Wide, so that you end up on the right-hand half of the new street

False — the right-turn technique does not fit a left turn. When turning left you take the turn wide, so that you end up on the right-hand half of the road you enter, and you do not cut the corner

Why learners get this wrong: When turning left you take the turn just as tight as when turning right, to get onto the new road as quickly as possible.

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