Netherlands on a UK Licence — The Side Switch, an IDP & a 0.05 Limit

Most countries change one thing for a visiting British driver. The Netherlands changes three, and they all land on your first day. You move from the left to the right-hand side of the road; you should carry an International Driving Permit because a UK licence is now a non-EU document; and the drink-drive limit falls from 0.08 to 0.05. None is hard on its own, but together they reward an hour of care before you join real traffic.

The side switch is the one to respect. A lifetime of left-hand habits runs deep, and the danger windows are predictable: pulling out of a petrol station, taking the first roundabout (now flowing clockwise from your point of view), and the reflex glance the wrong way at a junction. Take your first stint on quiet roads outside the city, keep the gear lever on your right in mind, and be deliberate at every turn until right-hand driving stops feeling backwards.

Layered on top is the Dutch obsession with cycling. Riders have their own lanes and clear priority, and the classic newcomer error — already harder when you’re adjusting to a new side — is turning across a cycle path into a rider on your inside. Slow every turn and check the bike lane.

On documents, a UK licence is often accepted at the desk on its own, but an IDP ends any argument; confirm what your trip needs with the Driving Permit Checker. On speed, daytime motorways cap at 100 km/h (130 overnight on signed stretches), towns at 50, rural roads at 80 — slower than the 70 mph you know. Cameras are everywhere; 10 km/h over costs roughly EUR 39-66, which our Speeding Fine Calculator will estimate. Petrol is about $2.15/litre, and the emergency number is 112. Read the full rules in our Netherlands driving guide before you set off.