On a motorway, drivers of a combination of vehicles with a total length of more than 7 meters and of a lorry are prohibited from using any lane other than the two lanes on the right on a carriageway with three or more lanes. The prohibition does not apply if they have to pre-sort.

This is how it is stated in the law. What does that mean in simple English? If the car and trailer together are longer than 7 meters, they may only use the two right-hand lanes on a motorway. If the peak hour lane is open, only the peak hour lane and the lane next to the peak hour lane. That is clear and not difficult to understand.

This concerns the last sentence stated in the law: ‘The prohibition does not apply if they have to pre-sort’. This means that at junctions with 2 or more directions, of course, you may drive in a lane other than the two right-hand lanes. Otherwise, it is impossible to change direction. Just look at the image at the top of this page.

Another point to pay attention to during the theory exam: Often, a car with a trailer is shown with a total length of 6.70 meters. The rule does not apply to this combination because it only applies to lorries and cars with trailers with a total length of more than 7 meters.

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