In the Netherlands, for urban and rural roads, the general speed limits are 50 and 80 km/h respectively. At the end of the nineties, the speed limit for many residential areas was lowered to 30 km/h, and for rural areas to 60 km/h. The roads in question are roads on which fast traffic and vulnerable road users mix, and for which the low(er) limit was set to ensure safety (see also SWOV fact sheet Sustainable Road Safety). Some rural through-roads have a 100km/h limit (trunk roads); these are roads with a connecting function, either interregionally or nationally.
The general limit on motorways is 130 km/h. In addition, there are other time- and place-dependent limits of 80, 100 and 120 km/h. Since March 2020, the daytime (06:00-19:00 h) limit has been restricted to 100 km/h for all motorways.
There are some other limits (70 km/h and 90 km/h), but these apply far less often.
In late 2020, Parliament adopted a motion to apply 30 km/h as the guiding principle for urban areas, leaving the opportunity to have through-roads deviate from this principle when safe. To this effect, CROW, SWOV and the municipalities are working on an assessment framework.
