Core: Dike roads and mountain driving

Dike roads are found mainly in river areas (Book p.69). They have unpleasant characteristics: they are winding and less clear than they look, they have blind uphill side entrances and side roads, and they have a narrow carriageway with sloping verges. The road surface is often somewhat convex and, especially on remote dikes, often in poor condition. Three limitations go with that: overtaking motor vehicles is often not safely possible there; vehicles from side roads come up onto the dike at an angle and often have poor sight of the road; and you often cannot safely evade, because the verges there are not suitable for it. In the Netherlands almost all roads are flat, so you cannot practise mountain driving during your driving lessons (Book p.69) — but the book does give the rules. When climbing: do not drive up the mountain in too high a gear; the engine is better off revving more than being lugged, because too few revs raise the engine temperature considerably and increase the risk of engine damage. When descending, part of this reverses: take the descent in the same gear as the climb and make use of the engine's braking effect — do not drive with dragging brakes. Climbing traffic must be given priority by descending traffic. Only overtake very carefully, because on rising roads such a manoeuvre takes much more time. And whether climbing or descending, stay alert for water, mud, loose stones and the like on the road (Book p.70).