The trap
Many learners think: With a trailer or caravan you may always drive at most 90 km/u, even on the motorway, regardless of the weight.
The rule is: The 90 km/u applies ONLY on autowegen and motorways, and ONLY if the trailer's permitted maximum mass is no more than 3,500 kg. Within the built-up area it stays 50, outside it 80
Challenge
'With a trailer you may always drive 90' is the sentence most candidates have picked up — from an instructor, a forum, or plain rumour. The CBR exam designer knows this and tests exactly the two conditions hiding behind that sentence: the ROAD TYPE on which 90 applies, and the WEIGHT below which it applies. Both must be true, otherwise the ordinary ladder applies.
Read this section on its own page: Challenge: Towing a trailer or caravan: 90 km/u is never 'just always'
The model
With a trailer or caravan (Book p.119): within the built-up area 50 km/u, outside the built-up area 80 km/u, on autowegen and autosnelwegen 90 km/u — but only if the permitted maximum mass of the trailer or caravan is no more than 3,500 kg.
Read this section on its own page: The model: Towing a trailer or caravan: 90 km/u is never 'just always'
Core
The rule for a trailer/caravan follows the same road-type ladder as without a trailer, with one important deviation at the top. Within the built-up area it stays 50 km/u — no difference from the ordinary rule. Outside the built-up area, on an ordinary road, it is 80 km/u — also no difference. On an autoweg or motorway it does NOT become the ordinary sign figure (100 or 130), but a separate, reduced maximum of 90 km/u — and this explicitly applies only if the permitted maximum mass of the trailer or caravan is no more than 3,500 kg. Both conditions must hold at the same time: the right road type AND the right weight. If the trailer's permitted maximum mass exceeds 3,500 kg, the 90 km/u does not apply — you fall back to the ordinary road-type figure (80 outside the built-up area, or lower if a specific sign indicates that). Separately, another special vehicle on the same page: a brommobiel (and a motorised disability vehicle) drives at a fixed maximum speed of 45 km/u, both within and outside the built-up area — no built-up/outside-built-up distinction as with ordinary cars. Figures about trucks and agricultural tractors that sometimes come up with this topic are NOT on these book pages — they are deliberately not taught here until found on a verified page.
Read this section on its own page: Core: Towing a trailer or caravan: 90 km/u is never 'just always'
Why it matters
Whoever believes 'always 90' either drives too cautiously at 90 near Uitgeest on the A22 with a light caravan when 130 is simply allowed without a trailer, or — more dangerously — tows a heavy horse trailer from a riding school near Limmen with a TMM of 4,000 kg and confidently drives 90, while the ordinary 80 figure applies there and the trailer is being driven above its legal speed limit. The double condition is not a bureaucratic detail — it determines how much braking distance and stability you actually have.
Read this section on its own page: Why it matters: Towing a trailer or caravan: 90 km/u is never 'just always'
Source: RVV 1990 art. 21 · checked 2026-10-22
Frequently asked questions
‘With a trailer or caravan you may always drive at most 90 km/u, even on the motorway, regardless of the weight’ – is that true?
No. The 90 km/u applies ONLY on autowegen and motorways, and ONLY if the trailer's permitted maximum mass is no more than 3,500 kg. Within the built-up area it stays 50, outside it 80
‘On an autoweg or motorway the 90 km/u applies to every trailer, regardless of the permitted maximum mass’ – is that true?
No. The text explicitly says 'but only if the permitted maximum mass of your trailer or caravan is no more than 3,500 kg'. With a heavier trailer the 90 km/u does not apply
‘A brommobiel may drive faster within the built-up area than outside it, just like an ordinary car’ – is that true?
No. A brommobiel drives at a fixed maximum speed of 45 km/u both within and outside the built-up area; there is no built-up/outside-built-up difference as with a car
‘With a trailer on an ordinary provincial road (not an autoweg) outside the built-up area, 90 km/u also applies’ – is that true?
No. The 90 km/u is explicitly tied to 'autowegen and autosnelwegen'. On an ordinary road outside the built-up area (no autoweg sign) 80 km/u simply applies with a trailer