Road traffic law: priority, signs and markings
Priority is the biggest single source of marks in the law domain. The test checks whether you can derive who goes first from signs, markings and the default rule, rather than recalling a picture.
The default: right before left
§8 StVO applies wherever priority is not settled by signs, lights or a police officer - unmarked crossroads, many T-junctions, and roundabouts entered without a yield sign. Only where Zeichen 215 (Kreisverkehr) is combined with 205 (Vorfahrt gewähren) does traffic already circulating have priority; otherwise the rider entering from the right goes first.
Signs you must read as a set
- 205 Vorfahrt gewähren: let crossing and entering traffic pass; no obligation to stop if it is clear.
- 206 Halt! Vorfahrt gewähren: stop at the Haltlinie every time, even with nothing in sight.
- 306 Vorfahrtstraße marks a priority road. 307 Ende der Vorfahrtstraße ends that status; reassess the next junction using its actual controls and applicable default rules.
- Abknickende Vorfahrt: a supplementary arrow plate shows which stream follows the bent priority road; anyone leaving it must signal and yield.
- 330.1 Autobahn / 331.1 Kraftfahrstraße: motor vehicles must have a design speed exceeding 60 km/h; the applicable rule also covers any trailer.
Lights, crossings, buses
Green means proceed only if the junction is clear; yellow means stop if you safely can. At a Zebrastreifen (Zeichen 293) pedestrians have priority and overtaking is forbidden. A bus signalling to pull out of a stop inside a built-up area must be allowed out. Police signals override both lights and signs.
Worked example
A road marked with sign 306 is a priority road. Sign 307 ends that status, so assess the next junction using its actual signs, signals and applicable default rules. Sign 208 instead gives priority to oncoming traffic at the relevant narrow section; it does not establish priority over a side road.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating 205 as a rolling stop, or 206 as optional when clear.
- Forgetting the 307 plate and keeping priority you no longer have.
- Assuming circulating traffic always has priority in a roundabout.
- Overtaking at a pedestrian crossing, or crossing a solid Fahrstreifenbegrenzung.