Verhalten im Straßenverkehr
What this domain tests
Verhalten im Straßenverkehr covers everyday behaviour: lane discipline, signalling, speed adaptation, communication, overtaking, behaviour at bus stops and in traffic jams. For D1 the exam adds bus-specific behaviour: pulling away from stops, door safety, passenger comfort and the emergency corridor. The test wants predictable, considerate driving rather than aggressive use of rights.
Core rules
- Signal intention early, check mirrors and blind spots, then move. A direction indicator shows intention; it does not create priority.
- Keep right on normal roads and use the lane that matches your destination. Do not change lanes repeatedly in queues.
- Adapt speed to visibility, weather, road surface and traffic. You must be able to stop within the visible distance.
- When leaving a marked bus stop, signal early and check mirrors and blind spots. StVO requires other traffic to facilitate the departure of a bus displaying the bus stop sign and signalling, but you must still not endanger anyone and must wait if a road user is already too close.
- Form a Rettungsgasse between the leftmost and the next lane when traffic is queuing on multi-lane roads. Do not use the hard shoulder as a normal lane.
- Overtake only when it is clearly safe and permitted. With a bus, allow for length, acceleration and passengers who may be standing.
Worked example
You are at a marked bus stop with passengers seated. You switch on the indicator. A car is approaching closely in the near lane. Although other traffic should facilitate your departure, pulling out would force the car to brake sharply. The correct response is to wait, let the car pass, re-check the mirror and blind spot, then pull out smoothly. The indicator is a request and a warning, not an absolute right of way. After pulling out, accelerate gently so standing passengers are not thrown off balance.
Traps that cost marks
Believing that indicating gives priority; checking only the mirror and not the blind spot; pulling out because the timetable is tight; forgetting that passengers may still be standing; using the hard shoulder to bypass a queue; and forming the emergency corridor only when an emergency vehicle is already visible. Another trap is to treat a bus stop as a place where normal overtaking rules can be ignored.