Oprijden

Oprijden is a Dutch verb derived from the prefix op- and rijden (to drive). It is used mainly in driving and traffic contexts and can convey two related ideas: to drive up to or onto something, and to collide with something or someone by driving into it.

In traffic usage, oprijden typically refers to the act of moving closer to another vehicle or object by driving toward it, or of making contact as a result of driving, such as a rear-end collision. The exact meaning depends on context and accompanying prepositions or objects. For example, statements about accidents often describe a car that has opgereden into the car in front of it, which translates to “the car rear-ended the vehicle ahead.”

Oprijden is a separable verb in Dutch. In the present tense the forms are ik rijd op, jij rijdt op, hij rijdt op. The past participle is opgereden, and in perfect tenses it is used with the auxiliary zijn: De auto is opgereden. This construction is common in police reports, insurance notices, and news coverage about traffic incidents, where the nuance between approaching and colliding is clarified by additional context.

Outside of traffic, oprijden is rare and largely restricted to specific technical or idiomatic uses within driving discourse. Its most prominent usage remains in describing how vehicles interact with each other or with road features during movement.