Theory Mastery

RVV 1990 art. 82: following instructions

Official text on wetten.overheid.nl

Road users must follow the instructions of authorised, recognisable persons: police, traffic controllers and school crossing patrols.

Source: RVV 1990 art. 82 · checked 2026-10-23

This article is listed in the law overview

How the exam asks it

Late in the evening in Nijmegen you reach a junction where the traffic light is completely dark. There is no sign and there are no shark's teeth. At the same time a car approaches from the right. What do you do?

  1. Whoever reaches the junction first may go through first
  2. You let the car coming from the right go first
  3. You agree with the other driver who goes first
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Correct answer: You let the car coming from the right go first

False — a dark light does not leave a gap in which whoever arrives first may go. Without a sign or working light you fall back on the basic rule: traffic from the right goes first

Why learners get this wrong: At a dark traffic light without signs: whoever reaches the junction first may go first.

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In a tailback on a provincial road near Zwolle a motorist gets out of his car. In ordinary clothes he stands beside the road and waves his arms to direct the traffic. What do you do with his signals?

  1. You only follow them once he puts on a yellow vest
  2. You follow them, because he is clearly directing traffic
  3. You keep an eye on him, but you need not follow them
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Correct answer: You keep an eye on him, but you need not follow them

False — you confuse confident behaviour with authority. Only persons who are authorised AND recognisable as such, like police, marechaussee, customs and authorised traffic controllers, give instructions you must follow.

Why learners get this wrong: A bystander who puts on a yellow vest and directs traffic must be followed; the vest makes him a traffic controller.

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You are approaching a junction in Rotterdam. There are shark's teeth across your lane, but your traffic light is green. Your passenger says: 'Now the light governs priority, not the shark's teeth.' Is that true?

  1. True
  2. False
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Correct answer: True

False — you put the shark's teeth above the light. A working traffic light ranks above shark's teeth and priority signs; on green you may drive on. The shark's teeth only apply again when the light is not working.

Why learners get this wrong: A priority sign (for example shark's teeth or sign B6) outranks a traffic light when the two contradict each other.

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