Said it WAS, not IS.. they had to change the law in order to be more compatible with European traffic laws.
The law was changed in the second world war by the nazis, but the Dutch gov't thought it was a brilliant idea to prevent fast traffic from being slowed down by slow traffic, so it was never changed...
I have a very low opinion about bike-friendlyness in her own country. How many people do you really know who cycle more than 10 km habitually? 90% of the people I know are too lazy to ride more than 5 km.. we Dutch just cycle because we are too lazy to walk and our cities are so compact that cycling is a very viable alternative.. inside a city a cyclist has an edge because of all the shortcuts we can take, also as a result of blocking roads for car traffic .. which is a good thing i must admit, but it is mostly done to allow children to play on streets..
Ivana, who no longer takes her bike out for a functional ride if it is over 25-30 km... it is simply TOO frustrating to get lost all the time due to inadequate signposting.. don't tell me you never got lost.. I did so at least 10 times in the Dutch section when I did Paris-Amsterdam Nonstop in 1998 (rode it in 40 hours or so). I still have to get lost just once in France.. never had a prob either in the USA.