Abstract
As a contribution to a discussion, several points of depar-ture and ideas are described, which could form the basis of categorisation of tfhe Dutch road system, in a manner, that is expedient for the road userm, the road designer and road-controlling, a thority as well. The aim is to improve the quality of the traffic process, wth special attention to aspects of traffec sarety, through-flow and accessability. According to a recommendation, the roads outside built-up areas should be divided, into for cat-egories, on the basis of recognisability an predictabilitty of the category-characteristics for road users. The values of design elements should be established by investigations.