Road Traffic Law and Priority Rules
Austrian road traffic law (StVO) is built on the right-hand rule at intersections without signs, but this default is displaced by priority signs, traffic lights and police directions. Learn the hierarchy: police > traffic lights > signs > right-hand rule. Give-way (Vorrang geben) and stop signs change the rule; a stop sign always requires a full stop, not merely slowing.
Key concepts: priority road (Vorrangstraße) marked by the yellow diamond; turning rules (left turners yield to oncoming traffic; right turners yield to pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road they enter); roundabouts where entering traffic yields unless signs say otherwise; trams generally have priority; and zebra crossings where pedestrians have absolute priority once they show intent to cross. Emergency vehicles with blue lights and sirens must be given a free path.
Traps: questions often show an unsigned intersection where a vehicle emerges from a lane of traffic (Linienverkehr) or a gravel road - these yield to paved-road traffic. Another trap is the reversing or emerging from a driveway driver, who always yields. Do not forget that priority can be lost by indicating late or by changing lanes carelessly.
Worked example: car A goes straight on a priority road; car B emerges from a side street with a give-way sign. B must wait even if A is turning left into B's street, because the sign governs, not the right-hand rule. Only when two vehicles face the same sign does the right-hand rule return.