Challenge
Most students only know the distinction 'inside versus outside the built-up area'. The book works with a different classification that cuts straight across that: three categories, each with its own purpose, junction type and speed regime — and the CBR exam designer tests exactly whether you know that classification, not the built-up-area boundary.
Read this section on its own page: Challenge: Road categories: through roads, distributor roads and access roads
The model
Three categories, three behaviours (Book p.81): a through road lets traffic flow as fast as possible (often 100 km/h, grade-separated junctions); a distributor road has at-grade junctions (built-up 50/70 km/h, outside built-up 80 km/h); an access road has mixed traffic with no direction separation and usually no separated cycle path.
Read this section on its own page: The model: Road categories: through roads, distributor roads and access roads
Core
Through roads are meant to let traffic flow as fast as possible; most expressways and motorways are designated as through roads (Book p.81). A through road does not have to be a motorway: an expressway can also be laid out as a through road — then the directions are not separated by a verge but by a double solid line with a green fill, with a speed limit of 100 km/h and grade-separated junctions. Distributor roads have at-grade junctions and are meant to give access to rural or urban areas; within a built-up area the speed is 50 km/h or 70 km/h, outside a built-up area 80 km/h (Book p.81). Access roads are roads with mixed slow and motorised traffic, with no direction separation and usually no separated cycle paths (Book p.81) — these are most streets in a residential area or in the countryside where you reach a plot or frontage directly. These three categories belong to the 'Duurzaam Veilig' (Sustainable Safety) programme: by consistently laying out roads according to their function, you as a driver can recognise which behaviour belongs to which road. The book is firm on this: as a driver you must show the right behaviour on each of the three road categories — not only on the fastest one.
Read this section on its own page: Core: Road categories: through roads, distributor roads and access roads
Source: RVV 1990 art. 20 · checked 2026-10-22
Test yourself
You drive from the A76 near Landgraaf via an ordinary ring road into Geleen, and ten minutes later park your car on a narrow street in Bemelen to pick up a friend. Without noticing, you have just passed through three completely different road categories. Which three?
Show the answer
Three categories, three behaviours (Book p.81): a through road lets traffic flow as fast as possible (often 100 km/h, grade-separated junctions); a distributor road has at-grade junctions (built-up 50/70 km/h, outside built-up 80 km/h); an access road has mixed traffic with no direction separation and usually no separated cycle path.
Frequently asked questions
‘A through road (stroomweg) is the same as a motorway; an ordinary expressway does not count’ – is that true?
No. Most expressways (autowegen) AND motorways (autosnelwegen) are designated as through roads; a through road can even be built as an expressway, with the directions separated by a double solid line with a green fill instead of a verge
‘On a distributor road (gebiedsontsluitingsweg) the speed within a built-up area is always 50 km/h’ – is that true?
No. Within a built-up area the speed on a distributor road is 50 km/h OR 70 km/h, outside a built-up area 80 km/h
‘An access road (erftoegangsweg) always has a separated cycle path, just like a distributor road’ – is that true?
No. An access road has mixed slow and motorised traffic, no separation of directions and usually no separated cycle paths
‘Adapting your behaviour to the road category mainly matters on the through road; on the other two categories it barely matters’ – is that true?
No. As a driver you must show the right behaviour on EACH of the three road categories, with no exception for the two 'calmer' categories
‘An access road (erftoegangsweg) has grade-separated junctions’ – is that true?
No. Grade-separated junctions belong to the through road, not the access road