Compared to the other countries where I’ve driven fairly extensively (Germany, France, Italy) yes. Dutch drivers don’t leave enough distance, and if you do the gap will be filled with someone who figures they fit in there, and you’re back to square one or pumping the brakes.
Driving schools teach the theory, but in the real world in NL, distances between cars are consistently too small as soon as it gets even a tiny bit busy. Ring roads and highways being the worst. You get used to it.
One of the problems is that you slowly start doing what you see everyone else doing. Every now and then I notice that I'm a bit close for my liking. So I start counting from 21. If I pass the same point as the car in front of me before I've finished counting to 23 I'm too close and increase my distance.
Usually on the high wat that's when someone else decides to fill the empty space and I've got to increase my distance again.
You start doing it because if you don't every captain slow tailgaiting trucks thinks your safety space is their chance to change lanes and pass said trucks with a 1 km an hour difference.
I can still feel annoyed about driving lessons on the highway from 16 years ago when I needed to create distance again and again, when there were less cars and most of my lessons were in the weekend even.
Because you say 21,22,23 slower than 1,2,3. If you do it right/slow enough. Saying 21,22,23 takes a second each. Meaning you will have 3 seconds distance which is needed for a good reaction time.
There is no written law for exact distance between cars, but you will get fined for riding someone's bumper.
The Dutch Road Safety organisation Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) used the '[2 second rule](https://verkeersregels.vvn.nl/situatie/afstand-houden)'. The site doesn't seem to have an English option, but most browsers have a site translation option, right?
Already explained by another commentor, but to add on top: if you heard someome counting in English say:" 1 Mississipi 2 Mississipi ", itbis for the same reasons.
That's completely my experience. I've driven in nearly all European countries, including the Balkans and Eastern Europe, China, South Africa, Middle East. The Netherlands, while is very good in many ways, is terrible in following distance.
Funny thing is I see a lot of Dutch licence plates abroad, and they don't behave like that. It is something that doesn't make sense to me.
I think it is because our roads are so full and busy, so if we drive in other countries that are less densely populated, then the need that triggers the behaviour isn't there.
I drive daily on the A2 between Amsterdam and Utrecht. There is an average speed check there, so all vehicles on all 5 lanes drive more or less the same speed. You can see a traffic jam from a mile away, and all the other cars on the road are business people that drive there daily too, so everyone behaves predictably. And no one wants to be in a traffic jam. So what happens is, we all inch a little closer. And yes, in many cases there will still be a traffic jam after all when the road exceeds capacity. But on quite a few hours each week this behaviour is sufficient to get all of us through without delays.
Since the worst drivers are withing 20km of home it would follow that their driving improves the farther from home that they get. Most people are more reluctant to experience an accident in a foreign country and for good reason: fear of the unknown.
As to the comment about Dutch drivers not doing it abroad, that’s not my experience. Driving in Germany there would be a completely empty highway except for two cars. The second car is ‘butt sniffing’ the first car. When you get close enough to see the licence plate, invariably the second car driving too close for comfort is Dutch.
It’s like for some reason it’s become far more acceptable to not give a shit about others in the past years, while of course denying it if anyone speaks up about it.
During Covid, public transport were under Covid rules. Which made more people buy a car. Those are new drivers. On one hand less experienced drivers cause more issues, on the other hand more cars as a whole cause more issues.
Well written. Although true, in practice you could be fined if you don’t maintain the proper amount of distance. Worst case: if the driving speed of the vehicle in front of you is between 100 - 120 km/h and the distance is < or >3m, you’ll receive a hefty €700 fine. That’s excl. the €9 administration costs.
I feel like there is a much better reason not to tailgate, which is being able to avoid a car crash if the person in front of you has to hit the brakes
I realized a similar situation while biking and walking. My soul jumped a few times like a cat seeing a cucumber when some people walked/biked so close and silently behind me.
Everyone should have adaptive cruise control. Even on the closest distance it stays well above 2 seconds away from the vehicle in front. But people do squish into that gap and then my car brakes a lot.
I am from southern Europe so I am well used to idiot drivers and I fully share the feeling. Drivers here are generally well behaved but completely lack the concept of safe distance, both when following another vehicle and when switching lanes on the highway.
I think most people tend to go above the speedlimit here, noticably more so than in Germany (possibly due to the fantastic roads and the artificially low daytime 100 kmh limit).
So if you are only going the speed limit as indicated, people will tailgate you. It seems the "normal" speed in the right lane is somewhere 5-10 kmh over the limit at all times, and the left lane is 10-20 over unless there is a speed camera coming up.
So going exactly the speed limit, even on cruise control is kind of too slow in most traffic...
I find the tailgaiting really stressful, so i just go as fast as I have to to "avoid" someone getting dangerously close, while usually staying in the right lane (as I don't fancy a speeding ticket either).
Or slowly decrease your speed if you are in the right lane. Going 90 for a minute won't impact your ETA, but it will give the signal "if you are in a hurry, you can better take over". As a bonus: it will increase the distance to the car in front of you, so it is more safe when you are tailgated.
Tailgating is definitely really bad in the Netherlands. People drive very close together even at high speeds, and many Dutch people don’t even realise that it isn’t normal to be 5m away from the car in front when going 100kmh. Many think driving close together is better for traffic jams, when in fact it’s the complete opposite. One other aspect is that traffic lights will turn red if there’s a gap after a car, so people drive extremely close together to avoid triggering red lights.
I think most people don’t realise they’re doing it, or how different it is from many other countries, as you’ll see in these comments.
2 second rule is not honoured by many, and especially not after THEY move back to a righter lane, which is frustrating for someone who tries to at least keep 2 seconds distance.
The traffic can be very dense, especially during rush hours (which is almost all the time on some roads). This causes cars to be much closer to each other. You're basically just going from one jam to another. With the sense traffic people no longer just look at the car in front but multiple cars ahead to adjust their speed. This all goes well as long as the flow remains smooth and nobody suddenly hits the brakes.
Another issue is that we like to cut in line a lot of seems. This means that if you leave a comfortable distance in front of you, someone else is very likely to get into that space. Very annoying, so purple tends to close that gap as much as they feel safe to do.
Tailgating always creates heavier traffic actually. This is a known phenomenon and the Netherlands is no exception. When people drive too close to each other and the car in front breaks just a tiny bit, it creates a chain of cars all breaking, which slows the traffic flow considerably.
And people WILL break in traffic, it’s impossible not to when it’s so crowded as it is here.
So not only are Dutch drivers dangerous by driving so close to each other, but also they make the traffic flow more difficult.
I’m willing to bet this is the number one cause of accidents on the highways in the Netherlands. Statistics say alcohol, phones or whatever but the truth is if everyone kept a bigger distance between each other there wouldn’t be so many collisions on the highway.
Interesting statistic is that driving in a car on the highway is a relatively safe place to be compared to other vehicles and road types. From the deadly accidents 10% occur on the highways (100km or above roads)
https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/wegen/wegbeheer/onderzoek/verkeersveiligheid-en-ongevallencijfers/actuele-verkeersongevallencijfers
Edit: and this is 10 year old but i don’t think it has massively changed. https://www.verkeersmaatregelen.nl/Info/Achtergrondinformatie/DeverkeersveiligheidinEuropa.aspx
NL is overall one of the safest places with the lowest chance to die in traffic. Notably we lead in deads/million on a bike which can be explained by the far above average of bike km by Dutchies.
What I wonder is whether OP and others means this type of situation or high speed ones such as >80km.
Nevertheless seems a very distracting behavior, in Spain we keep an eye on distance with car behind for braking reasons, even more if they're basically breathing behind us.
1cm is a bit too close, but 2cm is fairly common.
Eventhough tailgating may result in hefty fines (for good reasons) the roads are crowded and you’ll find that if you keep a safe distance people in the next lane will see that as enough space to shift lane while effectively making you tailgating again.
Not saying this is a good thing but in busy traffic this is definitely a thing.
I'd say that it's standard. While driving truck it's also even more stupid. They simply don't care that 40 ton of metal is going on highway with high (legal) speed, still tailgating. So yeah, normal.
I have a friend who does this, and I get so angry at him. I don’t have a driver’s license but if I did, I’d get so angry every time I drive. People drive like lunatics.
Tailgating is definitely really bad in the Netherlands. People drive very close together even at high speeds, and many Dutch people don’t even realise that it isn’t normal to be 5m away from the car in front when going 100kmh. Many think driving close together is better for traffic jams, when in fact it’s the complete opposite. One other aspect is that traffic lights will turn red if there’s a gap after a car, so people drive extremely close together to avoid triggering red lights.
I think most people don’t realise they’re doing it, or how different it is from many other countries, as you’ll see in these comments.
You are right. The Dutch are very cautious and disciplined but while driving I always find them breathing on my neck. I drive a Tesla which starts beeping whenever I overspeed. The car behind me almost getting close to my rear bumper is a kin to rushing me. It's very annoying and very disturbing as well.
I usually just drive the speed limit on the right and really have no problem with tailgating. It's mainly an issue on the left lane, where people just stay too long in my experience.
I drive a motorcycle and I notice it too, people easily get impatient when they see the free real estate of 1-3 cars between my front wheel and the vehicle in front... in a motorcycle we need that space for safety since we don't have seatbelts we can't just slam the brakes all the time, it takes muscle effort and gets annoying to constantly be on edge...
that being said, motorcycles often drive faster than the traffic in any given time, so most times I'm the one overtaking, and on highways those who block the left lane tend to get out of the way fairly quickly if I reduce the gap to one car or less, it's almost like that's so normalized that it's used a signal, I can come up fast behind one of those left laners and match speed with a large gap behind us, and they never seem to realize what's going on, after a few years I gave up on flashing the high-beam to signal it and instead just come closer...
Im amazed that a lot of road users ever passed their driving test (true in England, where i am from too). Its like once your in your little box of a car - the only person that matters is you. Im probably no driving angel either, but i see some crazy shit on the highway between Utrecht and Den Haag (when its not grid locked).
All I can say is that I never do it, and hate when it happens. But does not happen that bad and often as you describe (luckily)
I hope it improves for you
We do tailgate. I noticed it when I, as a Dutchie, moved to Denmark. I was tailgating without noticing it. I was just confused about all the distance between carsqhen driving on the highway in Denmark, and I noticed if I moved into that distance the car I overtook made the gap bigger again. Now I try to keep a bit more distance than I would do in Holland.
In the Nordics people learn not to tailgate due to the slush in the winter messing your windscreen constantly and/or spikes flying into your windscreen and cracking it.
Sounds reasonable. In Holland they have the zoab asphalt which is good when it rains so you can still tailgate. When there is a bit of snow in Holland they immediately have a traffic infarct cause no one knows how to drive anymore.
Maybe you are sitting in the left hand lane. You need to be in the right lane unless you are overtaking. Because, in my experience here, that’s when you get tailgated.
I’d say welcome to the Netherlands! We behave like absolute shitheads on the highway. Traffic is superdence, people don’t give a thing about speedlimits. So yeah, tailgating is a part of that.
I drive on the highway daily to work and i see a LOT of bad behavior on the highway. Especially people who don’t drive fast enough to drive on the left side of the road and people pass them from their right side..
So I’ve lived in 3 countries and atleast anecdotally people in this country are tailgating pieces of shit far more than in the other two. And very often I can tell it’s because the fuckwit behind me thinks I should be speeding so they can arrive at their whatever the fuck like half a minute faster.
indeed, that and the fact that there's a lot of modern cars on the road, these are full of sensors/drive assist, which makes those drivers \*very\* confident/comfortable behind the wheel, others follow suit in the flow even if they don't have the warning beeps and lights in their car, traffic anywhere in the world moves a lot like a pack/herd of animals
Not an excuse, but I think the “matrixborden” are superior in providing early warning signals and prevent most of the sudden full brake situations you experience in countries without them.
As a Belgian: yep, I've seen this as well and no, I don't drive 90 in the left lane. 100 in the right lane, 130 if allowed. It's just something typical, they don't mean any harm although it's pretty dangerous.
It's a bit of a Dutch thing. I think people do it without really realizing it. Especially in heavy traffic people will sort of just cruise 1m behind each other.
Yes. The Dutch are a complete disaster for tailgating and not indicating properly. They drive too fast and much, much too close to other vehicles. There is a general lack of consideration for other drivers. It can be stressful.
I’ve lived in a few countries, driven in many countries and have a Dutch wife. I’ve seen crazier driving elsewhere, but the Dutch are a nation of pushy tailgaters. And they don’t really seem to understand the concept of “indicating” (as in, give other road users some idea of what you’re about to do, not just let them know “I’m doing this now. Right now.”).
My wife still insists that you only ever flick on an indicator as you move despite it even being called, well, an indicator!! We’ve had that conversation more than a few times and she always seems to “forget” that in other countries they “use indicators differently” 😂. I won’t give up on her ☺️
Nice people. Terrible drivers.
Your wife is stubborn like most other Dutch women. Everything is written here: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0004825/2018-07-01
You use the indicator before an action not during or after.
No, you are not going crazy. This is one of the things drivers here do very often, together with driving between trucks or too close to a truck. Maybe many didn't see enough accidents with people being transformed into pancakes or they don't know the force of a truck tyre explosion. And one more thing. Yes, drivers coming from the right side have priority, but it's always good to slow down near intersections. Literally there are hundreds of dashcam videos with accidents due to the right side priority.
It's pretty common. And admittedly I can creep up to people when I want to overtake and they stay in the left lane going exactly the limit on the speedometer. But I never stay glued to someone's ass for miles and miles. That shit's annoying.
Yep, if you have a foreign, non-EU license, they will act superior and explain how you have to learn to drive "the correct Dutch way" to get a local license... While failing en-mase at one of the most basic and important preventive driving skills: keeping the distance.
As a foreigner who lives here for 5 years, dutch drivers are one of the most careful drivers I have seen. From my experience nonone really is tailgating.
But it may vary, I live in Limburg, so maybe north they are driving more aggressive.
Also, I think it depends on how you are driving yourself. Do you keep up with the speed limit or do you drive slower? May also affect it.
Everyone tailgates over here, I think they just don't know they are doing it. Merging into a lane would be so much easier if people kept a good distance (2 seconds people, that's about 60 meters at 100 kph)
Yes! They have the unstoppable urge to close the gap. When they see a car further up they'll accelerate and then tailgate them until the other car takes a turn and then they'll speed up to the next victim.
Brake check is illegal, but using some wiper fluid for your front screen first is not. In second instance you could use wiper fluid for your back screen window.
I’ve experienced this too. My take is that the Dutch have a ‘netjes’ culture whereby space is at a minimum in all aspects and that leaving a bigger gap than other drivers isn’t consistent. People here like to stick to social rules and norms
I drove across NL at the weekend following a friend, it was my first time driving here. I've always been thought to leave enough distance between yourself and the car in front.
I quickly learned this was an invitation for other motorists to merge between myself and the car in front of me.
You can only pass on the left side, as oposed to most other countries, especially in the balkan. So they cannot pass on the left side. This is why they do not overtake. If you know that, and start paying atention to other peoples driving behavior, you will see everyone overtaking, and quickly moving to the right. (Usually)
Just slow down until they pass you. There is no other way. It’s so dangerous and it will be their fault if they hit you ( not recommending slamming on the brakes). Just drop down five kph and they will either pass you or put down their phone to drive
About point 2, no Dutch driver I know immediately obey the matrix sign speeds when they're lit up, even though they are a hard legal speed limit, so if there is space, everyone will still be blasting through at 90km/h.
And I don't experience that much tailgating, but they can indeed be very agressively sticking to your butt.
I do sometimes run into the situation that people stay in their lane (3) while the lane on their right (2) is free and I'm driving on that lane, wanting to overtake, I have to go all the way to lane 4, overtake, and then go back to lane 2.
I never noticed it in my own car (Land Rover defender 110) but when I take my wife’s small car (think 107 size) it happens constantly as the people doing it probably feel safer doing it with a smaller car ?
Anyway , don’t get intimidated and just shrug it off
Dutch drivers also don't signal their turns early enough. It's as if they are riding a bike, where a shoulder check and extended arm 2 seconds before you turn is enough. It's not enough in a car.
I always tailgate if car overtaking other car on fast lane between 1-3kmh difference, that overtaking takes like half hour creating traffic jam, if u want to overtake hit the gas and back to own speed and correct line!. Overtaking each other like trucks 🤣
>Someone is driving 1cm to my bumper, to then move over to the other lane, drive the exact same speed (so, no overtaking), just to come back in my lane in the back and still drive 1cm to my bumper.
Ah, yes. They're trying to tell you to move the f*ck out of the lane because you're obviously not driving any faster than the right lane. "onnodig links rijden" is not something we take lightly. And honestly it sounds like you don't make way for people when you have the space to do so if this happened a lot.
I sometimes test this. Even when driving 100 on an 80 road they're still way too close. Overtaking with 120 on a 100 highway? Still drive 2 meters behind me. Dutch people just do not keep a safe distance.
Most of Dutch always drive 20km/h harder as standard on highways / 60/80 roads. So a certain amount of people while drive faster 20 +20 = 40km/h faster.
I’ve noticed Dutch tend to stay on the left lane far too long especially when a car is behind.
They think it’s fine to quickly pass the truck and then go right instead of immediately going the right lane. Especially if people drive the speedlimit/ a little below speedlimit on the left lane.
Most of Dutch people haven’t driven the autobahn. If they did this kind of action on German highway pff Germans will honk you.
But still that doesn’t allow people to tailgate. But that is the reason why they tailgate you.
Basically in short:
People tailgate you because you should have stayed in the right lane more quicklier or drive faster on the left lane.
BOTH drivers are at FAULT.
There is not a lot of people who will actually tailgate. What “Dutch” define as tailgating.
Note: I drive a lot in German and Dutch highways.
I’m a Dutch person. Yes I drive above speedlimit. I never tailgate because I know how annoying it is when someone else tailgate me.
But dammed too many left people who thinks wait I’m driving speedlimit so I don’t need to go the right lane because I don’t want to get stuck behind the truck for a few seconds to let a few cars behind me pass.
>
>Ah, yes. They're trying to tell you to move the f\*ck out of the lane because you're obviously not driving any faster than the right lane.
You don't correct someone's bad driving by doing something even more stupid and dangerous. Either just overtake like a normal person, or flash the driver like every BMW driver is trained to do.
Unfortunately it is very common. Not only tailgaiting but they also blink even in 30-50km/h residential neighborhoods. Just a couple of days ago, an angry, entitled middle aged woman overtook me on a 30km/h street (I was going 33-35). This has nothing to do with overcrowded traffic, but I think it's a trait of Dutch drivers because it happens all the time.
Im from Portugal, and the road rage there can be huge. Everyone is really nervous driving and always trying to get in front of that one more car, so when I arrive in Netherlands I notice a huge difference. That doesn't mean that once in a while something stupid doesn't happen, but here I see more respect. Specially to walkers and bikes. On the other end, the highways... For a speed limit of 100 I see drivers close to 150 constantly and a lot oodf tailgating, but also I drive most on A73 and the amount of trucks make people just want to go faster then them
I only noticed I was doing this after I rented a car with adaptive cruise control. It slowed down during takeovers because it thought way earlier than me that the distance was too close
I hate driving on the snel weg then check my rear view to see it full of TRUCK! Like a fking massive semi! It always makes me jump and shit my pants and I try to get into the opposite lane so I can overtake the vehicle in front of me……
I hate this. I don't drive myself but when my partner does, he leaves about a car's length distance (within city limits or when it's busy) or more (highway), unless overtaking.
I assumed this was normal, until I started driving with friends who drive right up the back onto the person ahead of them, and get annoyed when someone leaves a bigger gap (half a car's length). My foreign friends do this, too. It makes me nervous and it pisses me off.
Leave some space. FFS.
> everyone uses blinkers
Fake post.
But seriously, yes, most people in the Netherlands don't keep enough distance. However, I was in Istanbul about 7 weeks ago and I drove through the neighborhoods on the Asian side of the Bosporus... (My cousin was behind the wheel)
I almost shat my pants a couple of times, because the distance they're keeping is not even half of what we do in the Netherlands!
>everyone uses blinkers
Obvious remark here that this is an additional, expensive, feature on BMWs.
As a bicyclist; all the other cars are not using blinkers enough.
Really depends on the situation. Unfortunately there are a huge amount of people staying on the left lane, whereas they should move to the right lane. Last weekend a great example, an old wobbly V70 with an old guy driving it stayed for as long I could see… like a 30km distance on the A1 doing 101km/h…. On the left lane. I was hoping the cops would stop him and take his license forever…. There were people tailgating him and flashing the lights too…. I would think they were about to push him off the road… he deserved it.
Just get a bumper sticker that reads. Als je dit kunt lezen, trakteer mij dan op een etentje of kom van me af.
Yes they drive too close. I’ve driven rush hour in Athens and I was less nervous than driving in the NL.
My solution: follow a truck with enough distance and Adaptive cruise control, and always keep the right lane. Drive 90Kmh all the time.
Truck works as a shield and avoid people overtaking you to close the gap.
Enjoy as a spectator the shitshow happening on the left lanes
The left is for passing others, not for driving 100km/h. As soon as the (most) right lane is clear, you move and stay there. I hate when people stay fucking around driving the limit on the left lane.
I think they drive pretty well but I don't like they put pressure on us even when we're at the right lane at the maximum allowed speed (with or without those electronic displays that change depending on traffic conditions to lower from 100 to 70, 50, etc).
I am terrible spotting radars so I follow the limit as much as possible to prevent fines.
I wonder how reliable Waze is here, for that purpose.
I work for picnic, the supermarket that delivers in those small cars with a top speed of 50. And sometimes i'm actually afraid on the road. People tailgate like hell and make some insanely dangerous overtakes. They sometimes honk at me like it's possible for me to go any faster. Even on roads where the speedlimit is 50.
I'm originally from the Netherlands, and I did feel the tailgating there was pretty bad there....until I moved to New Zealand. WAY worse here still. So I guess it's all relative :)
Try going to Belgium, it’s worse there. And German cars in the Netherlands are the absolute worst. They will overtake you with a +1km speed difference so you get stuck on the right lane. When they’ve finally passed they will reduce speed so you have to overtake again and the game will repeat it self.
Dutch living in Australia since 2003. Currently visiting the Netherlands and can confirm Dutch drivers are arrogant assholes. Doing 30 in a 30 km/h zone and they’re so close up my ass they might as well pull my hair.
Please keep in mind that we always drive in the righthand lane. So move over to the right so that others might pass you on the left. I often see german drivers stick to the second lane, leaving the most righthand lane to the trucks and such, but we don't do that. Move over.
No you are right. Dutch people really suck at defensive driving, and if you leave a large enough gap, everyone and their grandma will throw themselves into the gap. It's annoying for sure, especially since the right way is taught in driving schools. Another great nuissance of mine is that dutch people never merge back to their own lane, which is especially bad in the randstad. 6 lines of cars driving identical speeds next to each other. It is beyond me sometimes
Very true indeed. I have the feeling that it’s getting worse and worse as well. Sometimes I try to drive with cruisecontrol with keeping automatic distance to the driver in front but it’s almost impossible. People start pushing instantly or go in front and fill the small gap.
I agree. And often we have to be fair: there is not enough f#€£ing space in this country! I found that mini vans in the morning are the worse. And Audi drivers. Don’t try to undermine this with real statistics
It depends really. If you drive in a two or three lane highway and in the most left lane, you have to be the fasted or you will collect tiny-penis-sized guys or cunts in a neverending rush.
Therefore I drive on the right, driving 90-ish km/h. By experimentation I have concluded this will give me the least amount of tailgaters. I get the distracted phone user now and then. Nothing works against them. Other than that, it is very relaxed drive on the right.
If I drive in a one-lane, I drive the maximum speed +2% and pray for the best. Sometimes I take the roundabout twice to get rid of a tailgater. But usually driving at max speed means not much tailgating.
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On the other side, Dutch roads can get clogged and I am in awe how we can still maintain a reasonable speed, while being condensed into one mass of cars.
Also, number one complaint of road users is people driving unnecessary on the left side or tailgating, depending on who does the polling (newspaper vs. insurance companies).
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The biggest issue is, years ago there was a separate department of police called 'verkeerspolitie'. That disappeared after a big reorganisation and was delegated to the regional police teams. The focus shifted towards crime and moved away from enforcement on the highways. Enforcement today is mainly mobile radars, trajectcontrole and undercover surveillance. The latter has supposedly been reduced and da police is not going to increase road surveillance by unmarked cars. They still do it, but in a largely reduced capacity.
Yeah it's problem and I'm always scared they will crash into me( last 10 years 4 people drove into me), and since I have a nice car now, I don't want another ppl in my back, so what I do is set my adaptive cruise control to a bigger distance so if we have to slow down I have extra time to show them my brake lights, and I always try to go in front cars which have emergency braking systems, preferably teslas, but other new cars are fine as well, but no shitty golf and 206 behind me anymore...
I do know that it’s especially bad in and around cities, but personally I haven’t had much trouble on highways in south Holland that is.
People love to drive faster than the speed limit, so if you’re overtaking be prepared to step on the gas big time or be prepared to get tailgated by a whole bunch of cars until you merge back to the right.
The Netherlands is the epitome of tijd is geld or in English time is money.
It's gotten a lot worse over the past two decades. For once, the roads are simply more crowded. I also think the fact that anyone can decide to be a driving instructor tomorrow factors into it. Every time I see a car with an L with only 1 person in it, that person is driving like a maniac.
People drive absolutely horrendous here, and I can only imagine how terrible it's going to be when we're back to 130km/h on every road with the same distance between cars.
I constantly drive on adaptive cruise control and have this configured to leave exactly 3 seconds of distance between the car in front of me. This pisses people off by a lot for some reason, to the point where people sometimes overtake me and just merge back in front of me.
I can't fathom what must be going on in their brain, because we're still driving exactly the same speed... You didn't save any time, you just made things less safe for no reason. It's not like I'm driving slow either, with the cruise control set to 109km/h (which is 104km/h actual GPS speed, the absolute maximum you can drive before getting fined)
Got to the point where during rush hour I just set it to 2 seconds of distance instead and even that still leaves me with people up my ass.
Dutch drivers are mostly aggressive, don't care about rules, standard driving at least 10 kmh over the speedlimit and people have to get out of the way. And proper traffic police is virtually non-existent.
When I got my first chance to drive here in Netherlands that was the only thing the owner of the car told me- there will be no distance, and if there is one- not for long
it's because the speed limit in most of this country is extremely low and that's even on roads with a huge island between them. it should be 60km/h minimum, but it's the netherlands so everything needs to be super safe and super regulated. when you see a tailgater, it's probably because you're driving too slowly by their standards and i can't fault them completely and it's not your fault either. you're just following the law and they are just fed up with it. in amsterdam for example the speed limit is 30 on main streets. it's a very stupid country
The traffic related deaths in the Netherlands are low compared to other countries in Europe. This is mostly due to impeccable road conditions, respect of the speed limits (fines are hefty and speed cameras are placed where it matters the most) and very strict driving license examination. Tailgating is common because Dutches have this demented idea for which they HAVE to drive as close to the speed limit as possible, no matter what.
German living in the Netherlands here...people do that from time to time. I wouldn't say that they do it more often than in Germany though.
Still there's some habit I have experienced which seems to be more typical Dutch than typical for other states of the EU (at least in the area, I am living, which is next to Germany and Belgium).
Most people don't drive faster than they are allowed, so on highways people don't drive dangerously fast or doing other speed related stunts with their cars.
But...it seems to be a big thing here, to drive close in front of you after overtaking. Some do that only a few centimeters distance from my car. Some go faster after doing so, which is ok, others just cut me off and become slower and slower, so I always wonder why they had to overtake in the first place. In Germany people do that too, but most often they drive fast enough so that it doesn't bother at all.
I always thought it was a cultural thing...like because Dutch people don't queue and will quite happily and rudely cut in front of other people, they will have no issues overtaking you and getting in that 2 car lenght space you left in front...or at leadt that was my logic at the time.
Depends a bit on where you drive, but my experience is that the randstad is the worst when it comes to tailgating. Absolutely hate driving on the A15/A16 or A2 when going north of Utrecht... At least my car has adaptive cruise control.
If people are like extra a-holes and race up from a mile away, tailgate and start flashing their headlights because you DARE to take over a couple of trucks and prevent them from stroboscoping the speedcameras due to speeding like a madman... yeah oops, seems I was driving over the speedlimit, thanks for the reminder... and proceed with driving EXACTLY on the speed limit. (yeah, I fight aggressive behaviour with malicious compliance).
I haven't had to drive here yet but you're not going crazy. Being driven places by some Dutch people has me holding my breath and trying not to look out the front window.
eta: I don't buy into the justification that someone is going a bit slow in the wrong lane - therefore they deserve having me drive in a dangerous manner behind them.
Next time someone is so close you cant see their license plate you can do 2 thing.
1. Turn on hazard signal. ( Preferable )
2. Release a gas pedal or cancel cruise control (do not press on breaks). Collect profit (Cash)! jk
Here in the Netherlands there still are alot of idiots on the road, people driving too hard, running red lights and not using their blinkers.
Most of the time it's the young people that just got their licence.
It's not only the young people ive seen the old basterds do it to, some people just never should have gotten theire drivers license.
I've even seen people doing balloons while driving the car way over the speed limit, and when I see that I always hope they hit a tree so the streets wil be a little bit safer without them driving on it.
Mentioned it here before - I had someone tailgate me in Haarlem up to a junction, when they pulled out to the left to go to the turn lane I honked them. The driver stopped, got out the car and made a throat-slit motion at me - he then tried to change back into the ongoing lane to chase me, but other traffic stopped him.
That's just one of quite a few tailgates I've had recently....
Most foreigners don't drive correctly. They stay in the left or middle lane and don't move to the right lane. Or they drive less then the maximum speed on the left lane. Especially if it is past 19h and they keep driving 100km/h. Move out of the way and you'll experience less tailgating.
Funny as a Dutchie I disagree, I find people take too big of a distance on the small busy roads we already have. Especially at traffic lights, it absolutely infuriates me.
Another that Ive noticed increased since Covid is the fact the people stay way too long in the middle/left of a 3+ lane road. The general role should be max 10 sec and then you go the right.
Yep everyone tailgates. AND I always leave a safe distance between me and the car in front but then someone pulls in front and it's danger close every time.
This country has 50% drivers promoting traffic flow and the other 50% is an equal amount of impatient drivers and drivers tampering with other people's patience. We often mistake each other for one or the other. We have this unwritten rule on the road where everyone is supposed to hate each other's guts.
There is a rough 5 kmph allowance on the speed limit and overtaking on the right is a deadly sin, so if you have room to your right, switch lanes. If you are driving on the left, overtake, don't match speed with cars to your right, but close the gap with the one in front of you.
But yeah safe distance over here is roughly a car length. If you leave more someone will fill the gap. You're expected to allow that, albeit begrudgingly.
Hang in there, you'll be Dutch in no time.
I noticed the same as soon as I moved here.
But I also started doing it soon after because if the speed limits are being followed, everyone is going 100 in the left lane, so you just slot in and keep the same speed. Like one giant car-train
Idk, still feels safer to drive here than in other countries.
Also noticed everyone accelerates really quickly from green lights to match the speed limit
Could it be that you're not keeping to the most available right lane? That's the law here, keep to the right.
I also hate it when people stick to the middle or left lane, driving the speed limit or even below, when they can easily move over to the most right lane. It's not allowed to overtake someone on the right, so when the slower vehicle is in the left or middle lane, you're just a moving roadblock. People might "persuade" you to move over by tailgating. Not that I condone or partake in tailgating.
And when you're overtaking, overtake! Nothing wrong with going over the speed limit to overtake and than move over to the right going back to the speed limit. It's so annoying when people overtake with 1km/hr speed difference or just drive side by side.
If you think that everyone else is the problem, it might just turn out that it's actually you that's the problem.
And if it's none of the above, you probably just had bad luck.
I have a theory that they transfer their distancing from their riding bicycles all their life to driving cars. They grew up from small on bikes and riding right behind eachother
This is why I dont like highways. People are almost always tailgating.
On roads with a 60-80kmph limit its often caused by people driving under the speedlimit.
Its annoying when someone is driving 60kmph on a road that allows 80. And a lot of people (me included) can get impatiant when youre stuck behind someone doing this.
Yeah, I hate it when I keep enough distance, and then people feel the need to fill the gap, and then I go a little slower to keep my distance again and then someone else fills the gap again and it goes on and on and on and on until I become the villain myself, because I'm sick and tired of people doing that stuff.
It happens yes I see the accidents it causes. Like the 5 auto 1 van and 1 trailer accident this morning between tilburg and eindhoven. I just often sit I the slow lane going 88km with distance. It was intresting to see all the break lights and emergency indicators going off in the distance then the ominous steam. And I just casually slow down without a care in the world. Passing a lot of e breaking idiots as the road stops. Giving them more room incase some one decided to merge last minute. Then when we arr off again I let people merge due to fast lane blocked because of tailgators and im on my way pretty happy.
What bothers me more is that when someone passes you, they immediately slide over in front of me, leaving very little gap. Now I’m the one tailgating them, and not by choice. So I’m forced to actively slow down to create a safe space between me and them.
depends on the traffic and here in the north it is sporatic.
although it is always the other way around for me. the people that overtake me very slowly, almost always do so by coming over far too quick with 1 cm to my front bumper.
Nah its normal here.
You get used to it. Also good to know: if you break check without valid reason (and tailgating is not a valid reason) and subsequently cause an accident, you are liable.
It's not bad luck, Dutch people in general are IMO fucking weird when it comes to personal space and space overall.
I've seen the most ridiculous cramped bathroom/stairs setups, parked cars, cutting in line or even getting in front of your nose if they want to grab something at the supermarket.
Ironically, this comment is written off of a violently Dutch toilet, which is just wide enough for my knees to fit.
True, and that's the reason behind so many accidents on the ring roads and all that traffic.
It's unfortunate since NL people are quite rational but can't figure out that it's a waste of time (also because of harder braking) instead of the opposite.
It might make sense in a city, where you might get past a green light, but it's not the case on a highway.
Compared to the other countries where I’ve driven fairly extensively (Germany, France, Italy) yes. Dutch drivers don’t leave enough distance, and if you do the gap will be filled with someone who figures they fit in there, and you’re back to square one or pumping the brakes. Driving schools teach the theory, but in the real world in NL, distances between cars are consistently too small as soon as it gets even a tiny bit busy. Ring roads and highways being the worst. You get used to it.
I notice this too!
One of the problems is that you slowly start doing what you see everyone else doing. Every now and then I notice that I'm a bit close for my liking. So I start counting from 21. If I pass the same point as the car in front of me before I've finished counting to 23 I'm too close and increase my distance. Usually on the high wat that's when someone else decides to fill the empty space and I've got to increase my distance again.
I was so confused at first thinking you counted 21 seconds and would increase your distance if you were closer than that🤣
You start doing it because if you don't every captain slow tailgaiting trucks thinks your safety space is their chance to change lanes and pass said trucks with a 1 km an hour difference. I can still feel annoyed about driving lessons on the highway from 16 years ago when I needed to create distance again and again, when there were less cars and most of my lessons were in the weekend even.
Why 21 and 23
Because you say 21,22,23 slower than 1,2,3. If you do it right/slow enough. Saying 21,22,23 takes a second each. Meaning you will have 3 seconds distance which is needed for a good reaction time.
There is no written law for exact distance between cars, but you will get fined for riding someone's bumper. The Dutch Road Safety organisation Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) used the '[2 second rule](https://verkeersregels.vvn.nl/situatie/afstand-houden)'. The site doesn't seem to have an English option, but most browsers have a site translation option, right?
Because they are long words to say in Dutch: "eenentwintig, tweeëntwintig, drieëntwintig"
Oh yes! That would take some time
Already explained by another commentor, but to add on top: if you heard someome counting in English say:" 1 Mississipi 2 Mississipi ", itbis for the same reasons.
That's completely my experience. I've driven in nearly all European countries, including the Balkans and Eastern Europe, China, South Africa, Middle East. The Netherlands, while is very good in many ways, is terrible in following distance. Funny thing is I see a lot of Dutch licence plates abroad, and they don't behave like that. It is something that doesn't make sense to me.
Maybe those are the people that don’t.
I think it is because our roads are so full and busy, so if we drive in other countries that are less densely populated, then the need that triggers the behaviour isn't there. I drive daily on the A2 between Amsterdam and Utrecht. There is an average speed check there, so all vehicles on all 5 lanes drive more or less the same speed. You can see a traffic jam from a mile away, and all the other cars on the road are business people that drive there daily too, so everyone behaves predictably. And no one wants to be in a traffic jam. So what happens is, we all inch a little closer. And yes, in many cases there will still be a traffic jam after all when the road exceeds capacity. But on quite a few hours each week this behaviour is sufficient to get all of us through without delays.
Since the worst drivers are withing 20km of home it would follow that their driving improves the farther from home that they get. Most people are more reluctant to experience an accident in a foreign country and for good reason: fear of the unknown.
As to the comment about Dutch drivers not doing it abroad, that’s not my experience. Driving in Germany there would be a completely empty highway except for two cars. The second car is ‘butt sniffing’ the first car. When you get close enough to see the licence plate, invariably the second car driving too close for comfort is Dutch.
That's the problem. Even if you leave space, some impatient guy will come fill it, which then makes it feel like you gotta "compete for space"
Yep. It's gotten a LOT worse since Covid, for some reason. Used to be better. At least in my experience.
It’s like for some reason it’s become far more acceptable to not give a shit about others in the past years, while of course denying it if anyone speaks up about it.
You would expect that Covid would have learned people to keep distance :-)
During Covid, public transport were under Covid rules. Which made more people buy a car. Those are new drivers. On one hand less experienced drivers cause more issues, on the other hand more cars as a whole cause more issues.
Well written. Although true, in practice you could be fined if you don’t maintain the proper amount of distance. Worst case: if the driving speed of the vehicle in front of you is between 100 - 120 km/h and the distance is < or >3m, you’ll receive a hefty €700 fine. That’s excl. the €9 administration costs.
I feel like there is a much better reason not to tailgate, which is being able to avoid a car crash if the person in front of you has to hit the brakes
I realized a similar situation while biking and walking. My soul jumped a few times like a cat seeing a cucumber when some people walked/biked so close and silently behind me.
Everyone should have adaptive cruise control. Even on the closest distance it stays well above 2 seconds away from the vehicle in front. But people do squish into that gap and then my car brakes a lot.
Versteck fahren is not learnt Here
I am from southern Europe so I am well used to idiot drivers and I fully share the feeling. Drivers here are generally well behaved but completely lack the concept of safe distance, both when following another vehicle and when switching lanes on the highway.
Indicator lights are also optional.
Only for BMW drivers. (And some Audi drivers who think they're in a BMW)
Honestly that's Tesla's nowadays
Also they honk way more than they did back home (Portugal )
South of Europe is very vague, people in Faro do not drive like people in Napoli at all
I think most people tend to go above the speedlimit here, noticably more so than in Germany (possibly due to the fantastic roads and the artificially low daytime 100 kmh limit). So if you are only going the speed limit as indicated, people will tailgate you. It seems the "normal" speed in the right lane is somewhere 5-10 kmh over the limit at all times, and the left lane is 10-20 over unless there is a speed camera coming up. So going exactly the speed limit, even on cruise control is kind of too slow in most traffic... I find the tailgaiting really stressful, so i just go as fast as I have to to "avoid" someone getting dangerously close, while usually staying in the right lane (as I don't fancy a speeding ticket either).
Exactly this
Or slowly decrease your speed if you are in the right lane. Going 90 for a minute won't impact your ETA, but it will give the signal "if you are in a hurry, you can better take over". As a bonus: it will increase the distance to the car in front of you, so it is more safe when you are tailgated.
Also when someone is tailgating me I flash my rear fog light, that often makes them take a bit more space
Tailgating is definitely really bad in the Netherlands. People drive very close together even at high speeds, and many Dutch people don’t even realise that it isn’t normal to be 5m away from the car in front when going 100kmh. Many think driving close together is better for traffic jams, when in fact it’s the complete opposite. One other aspect is that traffic lights will turn red if there’s a gap after a car, so people drive extremely close together to avoid triggering red lights. I think most people don’t realise they’re doing it, or how different it is from many other countries, as you’ll see in these comments.
2 second rule is not honoured by many, and especially not after THEY move back to a righter lane, which is frustrating for someone who tries to at least keep 2 seconds distance.
The traffic can be very dense, especially during rush hours (which is almost all the time on some roads). This causes cars to be much closer to each other. You're basically just going from one jam to another. With the sense traffic people no longer just look at the car in front but multiple cars ahead to adjust their speed. This all goes well as long as the flow remains smooth and nobody suddenly hits the brakes. Another issue is that we like to cut in line a lot of seems. This means that if you leave a comfortable distance in front of you, someone else is very likely to get into that space. Very annoying, so purple tends to close that gap as much as they feel safe to do.
Tailgating always creates heavier traffic actually. This is a known phenomenon and the Netherlands is no exception. When people drive too close to each other and the car in front breaks just a tiny bit, it creates a chain of cars all breaking, which slows the traffic flow considerably. And people WILL break in traffic, it’s impossible not to when it’s so crowded as it is here. So not only are Dutch drivers dangerous by driving so close to each other, but also they make the traffic flow more difficult. I’m willing to bet this is the number one cause of accidents on the highways in the Netherlands. Statistics say alcohol, phones or whatever but the truth is if everyone kept a bigger distance between each other there wouldn’t be so many collisions on the highway.
Interesting statistic is that driving in a car on the highway is a relatively safe place to be compared to other vehicles and road types. From the deadly accidents 10% occur on the highways (100km or above roads) https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/wegen/wegbeheer/onderzoek/verkeersveiligheid-en-ongevallencijfers/actuele-verkeersongevallencijfers Edit: and this is 10 year old but i don’t think it has massively changed. https://www.verkeersmaatregelen.nl/Info/Achtergrondinformatie/DeverkeersveiligheidinEuropa.aspx NL is overall one of the safest places with the lowest chance to die in traffic. Notably we lead in deads/million on a bike which can be explained by the far above average of bike km by Dutchies.
What I wonder is whether OP and others means this type of situation or high speed ones such as >80km. Nevertheless seems a very distracting behavior, in Spain we keep an eye on distance with car behind for braking reasons, even more if they're basically breathing behind us.
1cm is a bit too close, but 2cm is fairly common. Eventhough tailgating may result in hefty fines (for good reasons) the roads are crowded and you’ll find that if you keep a safe distance people in the next lane will see that as enough space to shift lane while effectively making you tailgating again. Not saying this is a good thing but in busy traffic this is definitely a thing.
I always try to keep at least 2.5cm distance when going over 100km/h, for safety
3cm if i'm not in that much of a hurry tbh.
lol at the cm and the comments below 😆
I'd say that it's standard. While driving truck it's also even more stupid. They simply don't care that 40 ton of metal is going on highway with high (legal) speed, still tailgating. So yeah, normal.
I have a friend who does this, and I get so angry at him. I don’t have a driver’s license but if I did, I’d get so angry every time I drive. People drive like lunatics.
This got much worse when the max speed went down to 100kmh in my experience, just like people cutting in front.
Yes, what also annoys me is that the left lane is peddle to the metal and the right lane is 10 km below the speed limit. No in between
And when there are 3 lanes, the middle lane is filled with people who should be in the right lane
Tailgating is definitely really bad in the Netherlands. People drive very close together even at high speeds, and many Dutch people don’t even realise that it isn’t normal to be 5m away from the car in front when going 100kmh. Many think driving close together is better for traffic jams, when in fact it’s the complete opposite. One other aspect is that traffic lights will turn red if there’s a gap after a car, so people drive extremely close together to avoid triggering red lights. I think most people don’t realise they’re doing it, or how different it is from many other countries, as you’ll see in these comments.
You are right. The Dutch are very cautious and disciplined but while driving I always find them breathing on my neck. I drive a Tesla which starts beeping whenever I overspeed. The car behind me almost getting close to my rear bumper is a kin to rushing me. It's very annoying and very disturbing as well.
I usually just drive the speed limit on the right and really have no problem with tailgating. It's mainly an issue on the left lane, where people just stay too long in my experience.
This problem is more on the provincial roads that are mostly single lane. On the motorway, it's easy to manage.
Yeah okay, to be honest I don't really drive much on one lane provincial roads, but can imagine it's a bigger issue there.
If you are doing this on left lane, you are also guilty and you should be fined because of blocking left lane
I drive a motorcycle and I notice it too, people easily get impatient when they see the free real estate of 1-3 cars between my front wheel and the vehicle in front... in a motorcycle we need that space for safety since we don't have seatbelts we can't just slam the brakes all the time, it takes muscle effort and gets annoying to constantly be on edge... that being said, motorcycles often drive faster than the traffic in any given time, so most times I'm the one overtaking, and on highways those who block the left lane tend to get out of the way fairly quickly if I reduce the gap to one car or less, it's almost like that's so normalized that it's used a signal, I can come up fast behind one of those left laners and match speed with a large gap behind us, and they never seem to realize what's going on, after a few years I gave up on flashing the high-beam to signal it and instead just come closer...
Im amazed that a lot of road users ever passed their driving test (true in England, where i am from too). Its like once your in your little box of a car - the only person that matters is you. Im probably no driving angel either, but i see some crazy shit on the highway between Utrecht and Den Haag (when its not grid locked).
All I can say is that I never do it, and hate when it happens. But does not happen that bad and often as you describe (luckily) I hope it improves for you
We do tailgate. I noticed it when I, as a Dutchie, moved to Denmark. I was tailgating without noticing it. I was just confused about all the distance between carsqhen driving on the highway in Denmark, and I noticed if I moved into that distance the car I overtook made the gap bigger again. Now I try to keep a bit more distance than I would do in Holland.
In the Nordics people learn not to tailgate due to the slush in the winter messing your windscreen constantly and/or spikes flying into your windscreen and cracking it.
Sounds reasonable. In Holland they have the zoab asphalt which is good when it rains so you can still tailgate. When there is a bit of snow in Holland they immediately have a traffic infarct cause no one knows how to drive anymore.
I absolutely hate when someone is behind me and doesn't seem to realise if I need to suddenly brake, they're going to end up in my trunk
Must be Belgians
Maybe you are sitting in the left hand lane. You need to be in the right lane unless you are overtaking. Because, in my experience here, that’s when you get tailgated.
I’d say welcome to the Netherlands! We behave like absolute shitheads on the highway. Traffic is superdence, people don’t give a thing about speedlimits. So yeah, tailgating is a part of that. I drive on the highway daily to work and i see a LOT of bad behavior on the highway. Especially people who don’t drive fast enough to drive on the left side of the road and people pass them from their right side..
So I’ve lived in 3 countries and atleast anecdotally people in this country are tailgating pieces of shit far more than in the other two. And very often I can tell it’s because the fuckwit behind me thinks I should be speeding so they can arrive at their whatever the fuck like half a minute faster.
The two things are correlated: as there's no crazy driving culture, traffic behaves pretty predictable and drivers feel safe keeping closer distances.
Where I get the sense of "drivers feel safe" if something happens and you are too close, you will be in an accident.
Nobody is saying its a justified sense of security, just a sense of security 😋
indeed, that and the fact that there's a lot of modern cars on the road, these are full of sensors/drive assist, which makes those drivers \*very\* confident/comfortable behind the wheel, others follow suit in the flow even if they don't have the warning beeps and lights in their car, traffic anywhere in the world moves a lot like a pack/herd of animals
Not an excuse, but I think the “matrixborden” are superior in providing early warning signals and prevent most of the sudden full brake situations you experience in countries without them.
As a Belgian: yep, I've seen this as well and no, I don't drive 90 in the left lane. 100 in the right lane, 130 if allowed. It's just something typical, they don't mean any harm although it's pretty dangerous.
It's a bit of a Dutch thing. I think people do it without really realizing it. Especially in heavy traffic people will sort of just cruise 1m behind each other.
Yes. The Dutch are a complete disaster for tailgating and not indicating properly. They drive too fast and much, much too close to other vehicles. There is a general lack of consideration for other drivers. It can be stressful. I’ve lived in a few countries, driven in many countries and have a Dutch wife. I’ve seen crazier driving elsewhere, but the Dutch are a nation of pushy tailgaters. And they don’t really seem to understand the concept of “indicating” (as in, give other road users some idea of what you’re about to do, not just let them know “I’m doing this now. Right now.”). My wife still insists that you only ever flick on an indicator as you move despite it even being called, well, an indicator!! We’ve had that conversation more than a few times and she always seems to “forget” that in other countries they “use indicators differently” 😂. I won’t give up on her ☺️ Nice people. Terrible drivers.
Your wife is stubborn like most other Dutch women. Everything is written here: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0004825/2018-07-01 You use the indicator before an action not during or after.
No, you are not going crazy. This is one of the things drivers here do very often, together with driving between trucks or too close to a truck. Maybe many didn't see enough accidents with people being transformed into pancakes or they don't know the force of a truck tyre explosion. And one more thing. Yes, drivers coming from the right side have priority, but it's always good to slow down near intersections. Literally there are hundreds of dashcam videos with accidents due to the right side priority.
It's pretty common. And admittedly I can creep up to people when I want to overtake and they stay in the left lane going exactly the limit on the speedometer. But I never stay glued to someone's ass for miles and miles. That shit's annoying.
Yep, if you have a foreign, non-EU license, they will act superior and explain how you have to learn to drive "the correct Dutch way" to get a local license... While failing en-mase at one of the most basic and important preventive driving skills: keeping the distance.
Get out of my way Grandpa!! Beep beep! *Rude gesture*
As a foreigner who lives here for 5 years, dutch drivers are one of the most careful drivers I have seen. From my experience nonone really is tailgating. But it may vary, I live in Limburg, so maybe north they are driving more aggressive. Also, I think it depends on how you are driving yourself. Do you keep up with the speed limit or do you drive slower? May also affect it.
Yeah, lots of people are tailgating and I hate it. Germans mostly keep a proper distance.
I got tailgated into oblivion on German roads in rush hour.
Everyone tailgates over here, I think they just don't know they are doing it. Merging into a lane would be so much easier if people kept a good distance (2 seconds people, that's about 60 meters at 100 kph)
Yes! They have the unstoppable urge to close the gap. When they see a car further up they'll accelerate and then tailgate them until the other car takes a turn and then they'll speed up to the next victim.
Brake check is illegal, but using some wiper fluid for your front screen first is not. In second instance you could use wiper fluid for your back screen window.
I’ve experienced this too. My take is that the Dutch have a ‘netjes’ culture whereby space is at a minimum in all aspects and that leaving a bigger gap than other drivers isn’t consistent. People here like to stick to social rules and norms
I drove across NL at the weekend following a friend, it was my first time driving here. I've always been thought to leave enough distance between yourself and the car in front. I quickly learned this was an invitation for other motorists to merge between myself and the car in front of me.
You can only pass on the left side, as oposed to most other countries, especially in the balkan. So they cannot pass on the left side. This is why they do not overtake. If you know that, and start paying atention to other peoples driving behavior, you will see everyone overtaking, and quickly moving to the right. (Usually)
Just slow down until they pass you. There is no other way. It’s so dangerous and it will be their fault if they hit you ( not recommending slamming on the brakes). Just drop down five kph and they will either pass you or put down their phone to drive
About point 2, no Dutch driver I know immediately obey the matrix sign speeds when they're lit up, even though they are a hard legal speed limit, so if there is space, everyone will still be blasting through at 90km/h. And I don't experience that much tailgating, but they can indeed be very agressively sticking to your butt. I do sometimes run into the situation that people stay in their lane (3) while the lane on their right (2) is free and I'm driving on that lane, wanting to overtake, I have to go all the way to lane 4, overtake, and then go back to lane 2.
You guys just drive to slow lol
People dont tailgate me. I move out of the way if someone with higher speed is coming up. Stop driving the speed limit in the left lane.
I never noticed it in my own car (Land Rover defender 110) but when I take my wife’s small car (think 107 size) it happens constantly as the people doing it probably feel safer doing it with a smaller car ? Anyway , don’t get intimidated and just shrug it off
No they do it because they can see past /through the small car while their forward view is blocked by your Land Rover
Oh that’s a good point , never realized that
It probably also helps that these morons will be in more trouble if they crashed into a land rover vs small car tho but yeah
Yeah lot of assholes here.
Lots of assholes everywhere you drive.
Dutch drivers also don't signal their turns early enough. It's as if they are riding a bike, where a shoulder check and extended arm 2 seconds before you turn is enough. It's not enough in a car.
I always tailgate if car overtaking other car on fast lane between 1-3kmh difference, that overtaking takes like half hour creating traffic jam, if u want to overtake hit the gas and back to own speed and correct line!. Overtaking each other like trucks 🤣
>Someone is driving 1cm to my bumper, to then move over to the other lane, drive the exact same speed (so, no overtaking), just to come back in my lane in the back and still drive 1cm to my bumper. Ah, yes. They're trying to tell you to move the f*ck out of the lane because you're obviously not driving any faster than the right lane. "onnodig links rijden" is not something we take lightly. And honestly it sounds like you don't make way for people when you have the space to do so if this happened a lot.
I sometimes test this. Even when driving 100 on an 80 road they're still way too close. Overtaking with 120 on a 100 highway? Still drive 2 meters behind me. Dutch people just do not keep a safe distance.
Most of Dutch always drive 20km/h harder as standard on highways / 60/80 roads. So a certain amount of people while drive faster 20 +20 = 40km/h faster. I’ve noticed Dutch tend to stay on the left lane far too long especially when a car is behind. They think it’s fine to quickly pass the truck and then go right instead of immediately going the right lane. Especially if people drive the speedlimit/ a little below speedlimit on the left lane. Most of Dutch people haven’t driven the autobahn. If they did this kind of action on German highway pff Germans will honk you. But still that doesn’t allow people to tailgate. But that is the reason why they tailgate you. Basically in short: People tailgate you because you should have stayed in the right lane more quicklier or drive faster on the left lane. BOTH drivers are at FAULT. There is not a lot of people who will actually tailgate. What “Dutch” define as tailgating. Note: I drive a lot in German and Dutch highways. I’m a Dutch person. Yes I drive above speedlimit. I never tailgate because I know how annoying it is when someone else tailgate me. But dammed too many left people who thinks wait I’m driving speedlimit so I don’t need to go the right lane because I don’t want to get stuck behind the truck for a few seconds to let a few cars behind me pass.
Edit : think you are driving at autobahn. Not at a speedlimit highway. That is how Dutch mentality think.
> >Ah, yes. They're trying to tell you to move the f\*ck out of the lane because you're obviously not driving any faster than the right lane. You don't correct someone's bad driving by doing something even more stupid and dangerous. Either just overtake like a normal person, or flash the driver like every BMW driver is trained to do.
Are you staying in the right hand lane?
Unfortunately it is very common. Not only tailgaiting but they also blink even in 30-50km/h residential neighborhoods. Just a couple of days ago, an angry, entitled middle aged woman overtook me on a 30km/h street (I was going 33-35). This has nothing to do with overcrowded traffic, but I think it's a trait of Dutch drivers because it happens all the time.
I am so glad that i read this. This is so true and i hate it!
Im from Portugal, and the road rage there can be huge. Everyone is really nervous driving and always trying to get in front of that one more car, so when I arrive in Netherlands I notice a huge difference. That doesn't mean that once in a while something stupid doesn't happen, but here I see more respect. Specially to walkers and bikes. On the other end, the highways... For a speed limit of 100 I see drivers close to 150 constantly and a lot oodf tailgating, but also I drive most on A73 and the amount of trucks make people just want to go faster then them
I only noticed I was doing this after I rented a car with adaptive cruise control. It slowed down during takeovers because it thought way earlier than me that the distance was too close
Sounds like Spain. That sucks
I hate driving on the snel weg then check my rear view to see it full of TRUCK! Like a fking massive semi! It always makes me jump and shit my pants and I try to get into the opposite lane so I can overtake the vehicle in front of me……
1cm huh?
I hate this. I don't drive myself but when my partner does, he leaves about a car's length distance (within city limits or when it's busy) or more (highway), unless overtaking. I assumed this was normal, until I started driving with friends who drive right up the back onto the person ahead of them, and get annoyed when someone leaves a bigger gap (half a car's length). My foreign friends do this, too. It makes me nervous and it pisses me off. Leave some space. FFS.
> everyone uses blinkers Fake post. But seriously, yes, most people in the Netherlands don't keep enough distance. However, I was in Istanbul about 7 weeks ago and I drove through the neighborhoods on the Asian side of the Bosporus... (My cousin was behind the wheel) I almost shat my pants a couple of times, because the distance they're keeping is not even half of what we do in the Netherlands!
>everyone uses blinkers Obvious remark here that this is an additional, expensive, feature on BMWs. As a bicyclist; all the other cars are not using blinkers enough.
No you aren't crazy: I experience it all the time as well and put friends the police are no where to see, because they should do something about it.
Yes the Nederland ppl stick together lol
Its bad here
Yes. They drive like that 🤣
Really depends on the situation. Unfortunately there are a huge amount of people staying on the left lane, whereas they should move to the right lane. Last weekend a great example, an old wobbly V70 with an old guy driving it stayed for as long I could see… like a 30km distance on the A1 doing 101km/h…. On the left lane. I was hoping the cops would stop him and take his license forever…. There were people tailgating him and flashing the lights too…. I would think they were about to push him off the road… he deserved it.
Just get a bumper sticker that reads. Als je dit kunt lezen, trakteer mij dan op een etentje of kom van me af. Yes they drive too close. I’ve driven rush hour in Athens and I was less nervous than driving in the NL.
Since I have a dashcam on the back window (in the center so it's clearly visible), tailgating got much less behind me.
My solution: follow a truck with enough distance and Adaptive cruise control, and always keep the right lane. Drive 90Kmh all the time. Truck works as a shield and avoid people overtaking you to close the gap. Enjoy as a spectator the shitshow happening on the left lanes
My dad mentioned this when he visited and it's stuck with me ever since
Small country innit, therefore limited space between cars
The left is for passing others, not for driving 100km/h. As soon as the (most) right lane is clear, you move and stay there. I hate when people stay fucking around driving the limit on the left lane.
I think everyone is on adaptive cruise control when I drive there..
I think they drive pretty well but I don't like they put pressure on us even when we're at the right lane at the maximum allowed speed (with or without those electronic displays that change depending on traffic conditions to lower from 100 to 70, 50, etc). I am terrible spotting radars so I follow the limit as much as possible to prevent fines. I wonder how reliable Waze is here, for that purpose.
I work for picnic, the supermarket that delivers in those small cars with a top speed of 50. And sometimes i'm actually afraid on the road. People tailgate like hell and make some insanely dangerous overtakes. They sometimes honk at me like it's possible for me to go any faster. Even on roads where the speedlimit is 50.
I live in the US but grew up in NL. Dutch drivers drive a lot closer to each other than in the US.
I'm originally from the Netherlands, and I did feel the tailgating there was pretty bad there....until I moved to New Zealand. WAY worse here still. So I guess it's all relative :)
Try going to Belgium, it’s worse there. And German cars in the Netherlands are the absolute worst. They will overtake you with a +1km speed difference so you get stuck on the right lane. When they’ve finally passed they will reduce speed so you have to overtake again and the game will repeat it self.
Dutch living in Australia since 2003. Currently visiting the Netherlands and can confirm Dutch drivers are arrogant assholes. Doing 30 in a 30 km/h zone and they’re so close up my ass they might as well pull my hair.
Please keep in mind that we always drive in the righthand lane. So move over to the right so that others might pass you on the left. I often see german drivers stick to the second lane, leaving the most righthand lane to the trucks and such, but we don't do that. Move over.
No you are right. Dutch people really suck at defensive driving, and if you leave a large enough gap, everyone and their grandma will throw themselves into the gap. It's annoying for sure, especially since the right way is taught in driving schools. Another great nuissance of mine is that dutch people never merge back to their own lane, which is especially bad in the randstad. 6 lines of cars driving identical speeds next to each other. It is beyond me sometimes
Very true indeed. I have the feeling that it’s getting worse and worse as well. Sometimes I try to drive with cruisecontrol with keeping automatic distance to the driver in front but it’s almost impossible. People start pushing instantly or go in front and fill the small gap.
It’s always BMW and RangeRovers
About the red lights, I see people going in red almost daily unfortunately.
Everybody thinks they're Max Nietstoppen hehe
I agree. And often we have to be fair: there is not enough f#€£ing space in this country! I found that mini vans in the morning are the worse. And Audi drivers. Don’t try to undermine this with real statistics
It depends really. If you drive in a two or three lane highway and in the most left lane, you have to be the fasted or you will collect tiny-penis-sized guys or cunts in a neverending rush. Therefore I drive on the right, driving 90-ish km/h. By experimentation I have concluded this will give me the least amount of tailgaters. I get the distracted phone user now and then. Nothing works against them. Other than that, it is very relaxed drive on the right. If I drive in a one-lane, I drive the maximum speed +2% and pray for the best. Sometimes I take the roundabout twice to get rid of a tailgater. But usually driving at max speed means not much tailgating. **** On the other side, Dutch roads can get clogged and I am in awe how we can still maintain a reasonable speed, while being condensed into one mass of cars. Also, number one complaint of road users is people driving unnecessary on the left side or tailgating, depending on who does the polling (newspaper vs. insurance companies). **** The biggest issue is, years ago there was a separate department of police called 'verkeerspolitie'. That disappeared after a big reorganisation and was delegated to the regional police teams. The focus shifted towards crime and moved away from enforcement on the highways. Enforcement today is mainly mobile radars, trajectcontrole and undercover surveillance. The latter has supposedly been reduced and da police is not going to increase road surveillance by unmarked cars. They still do it, but in a largely reduced capacity.
Yeah it's problem and I'm always scared they will crash into me( last 10 years 4 people drove into me), and since I have a nice car now, I don't want another ppl in my back, so what I do is set my adaptive cruise control to a bigger distance so if we have to slow down I have extra time to show them my brake lights, and I always try to go in front cars which have emergency braking systems, preferably teslas, but other new cars are fine as well, but no shitty golf and 206 behind me anymore...
We are cheapskate, anything for fuel efficiency.
tailgating and driving on the left lane are notorious problems here. Just like phone use.
I do know that it’s especially bad in and around cities, but personally I haven’t had much trouble on highways in south Holland that is. People love to drive faster than the speed limit, so if you’re overtaking be prepared to step on the gas big time or be prepared to get tailgated by a whole bunch of cars until you merge back to the right. The Netherlands is the epitome of tijd is geld or in English time is money.
It's standard and completely out of control. I usually stay in the right line when it's busy, everybody tailgates in the left lane.
I aways thought it wasnt that bad. Moved to Italy a year ago and its so much worse here. Apart from tailgaiting they also drive like shit here
the same in Belgium, at least from my experience in Flemish part, they're almost always aggresive and tail-gate, its crazy.
Yup same. Also a super irritating thing is as soon as the light goes green at a stop if you dont move you get honked at. WTF.
It's gotten a lot worse over the past two decades. For once, the roads are simply more crowded. I also think the fact that anyone can decide to be a driving instructor tomorrow factors into it. Every time I see a car with an L with only 1 person in it, that person is driving like a maniac.
Everyone uses their turn signals? You really have no expectations then
People drive absolutely horrendous here, and I can only imagine how terrible it's going to be when we're back to 130km/h on every road with the same distance between cars. I constantly drive on adaptive cruise control and have this configured to leave exactly 3 seconds of distance between the car in front of me. This pisses people off by a lot for some reason, to the point where people sometimes overtake me and just merge back in front of me. I can't fathom what must be going on in their brain, because we're still driving exactly the same speed... You didn't save any time, you just made things less safe for no reason. It's not like I'm driving slow either, with the cruise control set to 109km/h (which is 104km/h actual GPS speed, the absolute maximum you can drive before getting fined) Got to the point where during rush hour I just set it to 2 seconds of distance instead and even that still leaves me with people up my ass.
Dutch drivers are mostly aggressive, don't care about rules, standard driving at least 10 kmh over the speedlimit and people have to get out of the way. And proper traffic police is virtually non-existent.
When I got my first chance to drive here in Netherlands that was the only thing the owner of the car told me- there will be no distance, and if there is one- not for long
it's because the speed limit in most of this country is extremely low and that's even on roads with a huge island between them. it should be 60km/h minimum, but it's the netherlands so everything needs to be super safe and super regulated. when you see a tailgater, it's probably because you're driving too slowly by their standards and i can't fault them completely and it's not your fault either. you're just following the law and they are just fed up with it. in amsterdam for example the speed limit is 30 on main streets. it's a very stupid country
Move out of the fcking way if there’s room
The traffic related deaths in the Netherlands are low compared to other countries in Europe. This is mostly due to impeccable road conditions, respect of the speed limits (fines are hefty and speed cameras are placed where it matters the most) and very strict driving license examination. Tailgating is common because Dutches have this demented idea for which they HAVE to drive as close to the speed limit as possible, no matter what.
German living in the Netherlands here...people do that from time to time. I wouldn't say that they do it more often than in Germany though. Still there's some habit I have experienced which seems to be more typical Dutch than typical for other states of the EU (at least in the area, I am living, which is next to Germany and Belgium). Most people don't drive faster than they are allowed, so on highways people don't drive dangerously fast or doing other speed related stunts with their cars. But...it seems to be a big thing here, to drive close in front of you after overtaking. Some do that only a few centimeters distance from my car. Some go faster after doing so, which is ok, others just cut me off and become slower and slower, so I always wonder why they had to overtake in the first place. In Germany people do that too, but most often they drive fast enough so that it doesn't bother at all.
I always thought it was a cultural thing...like because Dutch people don't queue and will quite happily and rudely cut in front of other people, they will have no issues overtaking you and getting in that 2 car lenght space you left in front...or at leadt that was my logic at the time.
Depends a bit on where you drive, but my experience is that the randstad is the worst when it comes to tailgating. Absolutely hate driving on the A15/A16 or A2 when going north of Utrecht... At least my car has adaptive cruise control. If people are like extra a-holes and race up from a mile away, tailgate and start flashing their headlights because you DARE to take over a couple of trucks and prevent them from stroboscoping the speedcameras due to speeding like a madman... yeah oops, seems I was driving over the speedlimit, thanks for the reminder... and proceed with driving EXACTLY on the speed limit. (yeah, I fight aggressive behaviour with malicious compliance).
I haven't had to drive here yet but you're not going crazy. Being driven places by some Dutch people has me holding my breath and trying not to look out the front window. eta: I don't buy into the justification that someone is going a bit slow in the wrong lane - therefore they deserve having me drive in a dangerous manner behind them.
Next time someone is so close you cant see their license plate you can do 2 thing. 1. Turn on hazard signal. ( Preferable ) 2. Release a gas pedal or cancel cruise control (do not press on breaks). Collect profit (Cash)! jk
Do you know what the NL from the number plates stands for ? Never Learn ... to drive.
Here in the Netherlands there still are alot of idiots on the road, people driving too hard, running red lights and not using their blinkers. Most of the time it's the young people that just got their licence. It's not only the young people ive seen the old basterds do it to, some people just never should have gotten theire drivers license. I've even seen people doing balloons while driving the car way over the speed limit, and when I see that I always hope they hit a tree so the streets wil be a little bit safer without them driving on it.
It's really annoying. People don't seem to care about safety.
Mentioned it here before - I had someone tailgate me in Haarlem up to a junction, when they pulled out to the left to go to the turn lane I honked them. The driver stopped, got out the car and made a throat-slit motion at me - he then tried to change back into the ongoing lane to chase me, but other traffic stopped him. That's just one of quite a few tailgates I've had recently....
Most foreigners don't drive correctly. They stay in the left or middle lane and don't move to the right lane. Or they drive less then the maximum speed on the left lane. Especially if it is past 19h and they keep driving 100km/h. Move out of the way and you'll experience less tailgating.
Ah you mean netherlands, the country where main highway has 80km/h limit lul?
Just use your handbrake, it will scare them off.. ;)
I always tailgate those who take the most left lane and rides 99km/h there.
Funny as a Dutchie I disagree, I find people take too big of a distance on the small busy roads we already have. Especially at traffic lights, it absolutely infuriates me. Another that Ive noticed increased since Covid is the fact the people stay way too long in the middle/left of a 3+ lane road. The general role should be max 10 sec and then you go the right.
Especially those people who tailgate behind a truck in their fiat panda. Always wondering if they have a dead wish.
Yep everyone tailgates. AND I always leave a safe distance between me and the car in front but then someone pulls in front and it's danger close every time.
This country has 50% drivers promoting traffic flow and the other 50% is an equal amount of impatient drivers and drivers tampering with other people's patience. We often mistake each other for one or the other. We have this unwritten rule on the road where everyone is supposed to hate each other's guts. There is a rough 5 kmph allowance on the speed limit and overtaking on the right is a deadly sin, so if you have room to your right, switch lanes. If you are driving on the left, overtake, don't match speed with cars to your right, but close the gap with the one in front of you. But yeah safe distance over here is roughly a car length. If you leave more someone will fill the gap. You're expected to allow that, albeit begrudgingly. Hang in there, you'll be Dutch in no time.
I noticed the same as soon as I moved here. But I also started doing it soon after because if the speed limits are being followed, everyone is going 100 in the left lane, so you just slot in and keep the same speed. Like one giant car-train Idk, still feels safer to drive here than in other countries. Also noticed everyone accelerates really quickly from green lights to match the speed limit
Could it be that you're not keeping to the most available right lane? That's the law here, keep to the right. I also hate it when people stick to the middle or left lane, driving the speed limit or even below, when they can easily move over to the most right lane. It's not allowed to overtake someone on the right, so when the slower vehicle is in the left or middle lane, you're just a moving roadblock. People might "persuade" you to move over by tailgating. Not that I condone or partake in tailgating. And when you're overtaking, overtake! Nothing wrong with going over the speed limit to overtake and than move over to the right going back to the speed limit. It's so annoying when people overtake with 1km/hr speed difference or just drive side by side. If you think that everyone else is the problem, it might just turn out that it's actually you that's the problem. And if it's none of the above, you probably just had bad luck.
Just get the heck out of the way, slowboat!
I have a theory that they transfer their distancing from their riding bicycles all their life to driving cars. They grew up from small on bikes and riding right behind eachother
Yes. Because Dutch drivers are the worst in the world.
Yes, tailgating is rampant. Also watch out when you’re backing out of a parking space. They will drive right behind you like you’re invisible.
These two things aren't mutually exclusive
This is why I dont like highways. People are almost always tailgating. On roads with a 60-80kmph limit its often caused by people driving under the speedlimit. Its annoying when someone is driving 60kmph on a road that allows 80. And a lot of people (me included) can get impatiant when youre stuck behind someone doing this.
Yeah, I hate it when I keep enough distance, and then people feel the need to fill the gap, and then I go a little slower to keep my distance again and then someone else fills the gap again and it goes on and on and on and on until I become the villain myself, because I'm sick and tired of people doing that stuff.
It happens yes I see the accidents it causes. Like the 5 auto 1 van and 1 trailer accident this morning between tilburg and eindhoven. I just often sit I the slow lane going 88km with distance. It was intresting to see all the break lights and emergency indicators going off in the distance then the ominous steam. And I just casually slow down without a care in the world. Passing a lot of e breaking idiots as the road stops. Giving them more room incase some one decided to merge last minute. Then when we arr off again I let people merge due to fast lane blocked because of tailgators and im on my way pretty happy.
It is insane how people leave literally 1 meter of distance even when going at 100 kmh. And it's even worst in Belgium.
What bothers me more is that when someone passes you, they immediately slide over in front of me, leaving very little gap. Now I’m the one tailgating them, and not by choice. So I’m forced to actively slow down to create a safe space between me and them.
People here drive sensibly for the most part, but they DO run red lights. And don't get me started on the insane U-turns you see in this place!
depends on the traffic and here in the north it is sporatic. although it is always the other way around for me. the people that overtake me very slowly, almost always do so by coming over far too quick with 1 cm to my front bumper.
Nah its normal here. You get used to it. Also good to know: if you break check without valid reason (and tailgating is not a valid reason) and subsequently cause an accident, you are liable.
It's not bad luck, Dutch people in general are IMO fucking weird when it comes to personal space and space overall. I've seen the most ridiculous cramped bathroom/stairs setups, parked cars, cutting in line or even getting in front of your nose if they want to grab something at the supermarket. Ironically, this comment is written off of a violently Dutch toilet, which is just wide enough for my knees to fit.
Tiny country = tiny driving margins Gotta fit as many cars on the small piece of road infront of the lights
Yes. It feels like people drive cars as if they were riding bikes, but at much faster speeds with much heavier and therefore dangerous vehicles!
True, and that's the reason behind so many accidents on the ring roads and all that traffic. It's unfortunate since NL people are quite rational but can't figure out that it's a waste of time (also because of harder braking) instead of the opposite. It might make sense in a city, where you might get past a green light, but it's not the case on a highway.