Theory course · Topic 5 of 14
Topic 5
Basic rule, priority & traffic control
The double lesson after which junctions stop being guesswork.
In short
Topic 5 answers the question the test asks most often: who goes first? It covers the basic rule of the German road traffic regulations, priority to the right, the priority signs, traffic lights and the instructions of a police officer — and above all the order of precedence between them. A police officer overrides the lights, the lights override the signs, the signs override priority to the right.
Rule of thumb
Priority is not taken, it is given. Insisting on your right when the other driver is already moving breaks the basic rule of the road traffic regulations, even if you were formally entitled.
What this topic teaches you
It starts with the basic rule: mutual consideration, and nobody may be obstructed or endangered more than is unavoidable. That sounds soft, but it is the rule everything falls back on when signs are missing or seem to contradict each other. Then comes priority to the right — the default at junctions with no signs, with the exceptions you have to know: anyone emerging from a driveway, a field track or a traffic-calmed area has no priority and must give way.
The second block is the signs. Priority road, give way, stop, priority at the next junction — plus the small plates that show how a priority road bends and turn an apparently simple junction into an awkward one. The order in which you think matters: settle which regulation applies, then direction, then type of vehicle.
The third block is that order of precedence itself, and it is the real content of this double lesson. Instructions from a police officer come before everything. Then light signals, then signs, then the general rules. A dark or flashing traffic light therefore does not suspend priority — it hands it back down to the signs, and if there are none, to priority to the right.
- The basic rule and mutual consideration
- Priority to the right and its exceptions
- Reading priority signs and their small plates
- Order: officer, light, sign, general rule
What it looks like in Düsseldorf
In the residential quarters of Bilk, Flingern and Pempelfort priority to the right is the normal case — at junctions where parked cars block the view so thoroughly that the rule alone is not enough. The practical consequence is learned in the car: approach slowly, edge forward until you can see, and wait when in doubt. Insisting on your right here gets you a claim form and a damaged car.
The second Düsseldorf special case is the junctions where the Rheinbahn crosses or shares the road. Trams have their own signals, and a tram coming straight out of a track bed arrives faster than it looks. Add the big axes — Berliner Allee, Königsallee, Ost- and Nordstraße — with their lights, dedicated lanes and filter arrows, where looking at the right signal is half the job.
What the test does with it
The famous priority pictures with three vehicles come from this topic. The trick is never the rule, it is the sequence: first establish which regulation applies at all, then put the vehicles in order, and only then check whether somebody is turning and therefore has to let someone through. Looking at the cars first is what ties people in knots.
In the practical test priority is the most common reason for an immediate fail, because a priority error nearly always forces another road user to brake or swerve. The examiner also sees the opposite, though: stopping needlessly at a clear junction on a priority road shows you have not read the situation.
- Establish the regulation before counting vehicles
- Turning traffic lets traffic going straight through
- Flashing or dark light: the signs apply
- Do not stop on a priority road without reason
Common questions
What applies when the traffic light has failed?
The signs at that junction apply, and if there are none, priority to the right. A failed or amber-flashing light does not remove priority, it simply passes the regulation one step down.
Does priority to the right apply to cyclists too?
Yes. Priority to the right applies to all vehicles, and a bicycle is a vehicle. If a cyclist approaching from your right has priority, you have to let them through — which regularly surprises people in city traffic.
Who has priority: the tram or the car?
Rail vehicles generally have priority where they run on their own track bed or where a sign says so. Where a tram shares the carriageway, the normal priority rules apply — the practical advice is still to let it go first, because it cannot steer around you.
How often may I attend topic 5?
As often as you like. All fourteen topics run here in a continuous cycle, and repeating one costs nothing extra. Priority in particular is a topic that becomes noticeably easier the second time you hear it.