Right-of-way, intersections and priority rules (forgangur og gatnamót)
What this domain tests
Who goes first when two road users arrive at the same place. Almost every question here is settled by one specific rule, applied in a fixed order.
The order of rules
- Police or a traffic controller directing traffic overrides everything, including signals and signs.
- Signals, then signs (stop, yield, priority road).
- If nothing is signed or signalled, the right-hand rule (hægri reglan): yield to traffic approaching from your right.
Situations the exam loves
- Turning left across oncoming traffic: you yield to vehicles coming towards you.
- Joining a road from a track, driveway, petrol station, car park or field: you yield to everybody already on the road.
- Roundabouts: traffic entering yields to traffic already circulating. Signal right before you leave.
- Single-lane bridges (einbreiðar brýr): yield to a vehicle already on the bridge or clearly arriving first. Do not enter on a guess.
- Zebra crossings: yield to pedestrians who have stepped onto or are about to step onto the stripes, and to pedestrians when you turn into a side road across a footpath.
- Emergency vehicles using blue lights and sirens: give way, but do not create a new hazard.
Worked example
You arrive at an unsigned crossroads at the same moment as two cars: one from your left, one from your right. The car on your left is not a priority problem - you may proceed with care. The car on your right is: you must yield and let it pass before you move.
Traps
Claiming "I was on the main road" when nothing is signed - the right-hand rule decides. Reading a flashing amber as "everyone stop". Assuming a big vehicle will be given way to. Entering a roundabout while signalling left, or forgetting the right signal on exit.