Article 10 WVW: the ban on races — from street racing to "just pulling away fast" at the lights
Holding or taking part in a race with vehicles on the public road is prohibited in the Netherlands. Article 10 WVW itself is a summary offence with a modest penalty, but anyone suspected of a street race usually faces far more in practice: seriously dangerous driving (art. 5a), recklessness in the event of an accident (art. 6) and, not infrequently, confiscation of the car. The classification is therefore everything.
Do not make statements about an arrangement or an opponent
A race requires that performances were compared. Statements such as "we wanted to see who was fastest", or messages in which a race is arranged, provide exactly that evidence. Stay silent until we know the file.
Expect seizure of your licence and your car
On suspicion of a street race the police often take the licence and the car is regularly seized with a view to confiscation. Both can be challenged quickly by way of a complaint (klaagschrift).
Keep your own footage
Dashcam, phone, social media: the OM collects it all. Delete nothing — that can itself be an offence — but do not share it either. Let us assess what it really shows.
Have the classification tested
A race (art. 10), seriously dangerous driving (art. 5a) or just a speeding offence? The difference is a fine versus two years’ imprisonment. That is where our defence begins.
What does article 10 WVW say?
Article 10 prohibits "holding a race with vehicles on the road or taking part in one". The law defines a race as any driving with vehicles "to determine or compare performances, whether of the participants, of the vehicles, of parts of them, or of fuels". A participant is not only the driver but also the owner or keeper who allows their vehicle to take part.
A race therefore need not be organised. Two cars agreeing at a traffic light who will be first to the next junction already fall under it. For organised events the road authority can grant an exemption, subject to an insurance obligation.
What is the penalty for article 10 WVW?
Article 10 on its own is a summary offence: up to two months’ detention or a fine of the second category, with a driving ban of up to two years (four years for a repeat offence within two years). That maximum was not raised in the 2020 amendment.
For a street race the OM therefore almost always also charges article 5a WVW: deliberately and seriously breaching the traffic rules with expected danger to life. That is an indictable offence with two years’ imprisonment and a five-year driving ban as maximum, and a street race is the very "combination of acts" for which the OM guideline takes four weeks’ imprisonment and a six-month ban as the starting point.
In the event of an accident: recklessness
If a street race leads to an accident with injury or death, article 6 WVW applies and the fault counts as recklessness. The Supreme Court already cited the speed contest as the textbook example of recklessness before 2020; since 2020 that classification follows directly from the link with article 5a. The maximum is then six years’ imprisonment for a fatal accident — and one and a half times that with alcohol.
The fellow racer who did not cause the collision is also at risk: in street-race cases the OM regularly constructs joint perpetration, because both drivers deliberately cooperated in the dangerous behaviour. Defending against that attribution is a specialism in itself.
Confiscation of the car
In street-race cases the OM regularly seeks confiscation of the vehicle used to commit the offence. That is also possible if the car is registered to someone else, if that person knew or could reasonably have suspected what the car was being used for. For a leased or financed car the position is different.
A complaint can be lodged against the seizure, and at the hearing we contest the proportionality of confiscation: the value of the car is often out of all proportion to the offence.
Which defences are promising?
The first defence is that there was no "race": accelerating hard at the same time is not a comparison of performances if there was no arrangement, no opponent and no finish. That you happened to be driving next to another speeding driver does not make you a participant. The owner who lent their car without knowing about a race also falls outside the article.
Against article 5a we raise the intent and the seriousness defences, and test the speed measurement and the officers’ observations. If nothing more than a single speeding excess is proven, the case belongs with an ordinary speeding offence or article 5 — not with an indictable offence.
More on traffic offences
Read also about seriously dangerous driving (art. 5a WVW) and the accident through fault of article 6 WVW. The overview is on the page traffic offences.
Immediate help if you are accused of a street race
In a street-race case your licence, your car and your liberty are at stake. Call +31 6 20 44 68 60 or use the contact form; we file a complaint against the seizure of licence and car the same working day and assess the classification. The first phone call is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is a street race an indictable offence?
Article 10 WVW itself is a summary offence, but a street race is almost always also prosecuted as seriously dangerous driving (article 5a WVW), an indictable offence with up to two years’ imprisonment and a five-year driving ban.
When is there a race?
Whenever driving is aimed at comparing the performances of drivers or vehicles. An arrangement at the lights is enough; an organised event is not required. Without a comparison of performances — no opponent, no arrangement — there is no race.
Can my car be confiscated?
Yes, the OM regularly seeks that in street-race cases, also for a car registered to someone else who knew what it was being used for. We contest the seizure and the proportionality.
I happened to be driving next to someone who pulled away fast. Am I a participant?
Not necessarily. Participation requires that you yourself took part in the comparison of performances. Driving at the same time by coincidence is not a race; the OM must prove the arrangement or cooperation.
What if there was an accident during the race?
Then article 6 WVW is charged and your behaviour counts as recklessness: up to six years’ imprisonment for a fatal accident. The fellow racer who did not collide can also be prosecuted as a joint perpetrator.