Theory course · Topic 7 of 14
Topic 7
Everyone else on the road
Not everyone on the road has a crumple zone.
In short
Topic 7 turns the perspective round: it is about everybody else on the road and about how differently vulnerable, fast and predictable they are. Children, older people, cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians wearing headphones and lorries with large blind spots are the subject. Consideration here is not politeness, it is a duty under the road traffic regulations — and the only protection available to those who carry none of their own.
Getting out
Open the door with the hand that is further away. The body turns with it automatically, the eyes go backwards, and a cyclist is seen before the door is in the way.
What this topic teaches you
The first part explains why children are not small adults. They take in less of the traffic, misjudge speeds, are invisible behind parked cars and change their mind mid-movement. From that follows a hard rule: near children, constant readiness to brake and a clearly reduced speed are compulsory, not a nice idea. The same applies around older people and anyone visibly impaired.
The second part is cycle traffic, and in a city like Düsseldorf it is the heart of the topic. You learn why a cyclist suddenly swings out — an opening car door, a pothole, wet leaves — why a right-turning car puts them in exactly its own dead zone, and why the shoulder check is the only look that reliably finds them. Mirrors alone do not.
The third part is the blind spot of large vehicles, explained from the lorry driver's seat. Standing beside a turning lorry can mean not existing for them. The practical consequence is one of the few things from the theory course you go on needing for life as a pedestrian and a cyclist too.
- Children, older and impaired people
- Cyclists, Schutzstreifen, opening doors
- Shoulder check rather than mirror glance
- The blind spot of lorries and buses
What it looks like in Düsseldorf
Around the university in Bilk and on the axes into the centre, cycle traffic is dense, fast and confident. Radfahrstreifen sometimes end abruptly, Schutzstreifen are narrow, and there is little buffer between parked cars and the running lane. Turning right there without a shoulder check means missing somebody sooner or later — that is not a question of talent but of how many times you make the turn.
The second Düsseldorf classic is Rheinbahn stops with no island. When a tram or bus halts there and passengers get on or off, people step onto the carriageway — you may only pass at walking pace, and you must wait if necessary. Add the Altstadt, where pedestrians cross between cars in a continuous stream and a glance at a screen is already too long.
What the test does with it
In the theory test you recognise topic 7 questions because they ask how you react to somebody else: a ball rolls into the road, a bus stands at a stop with hazard lights on, a child waits at the kerb, a person with a white cane wants to cross. The answers nearly always require taking speed off and being ready to brake.
In the practical test a missing shoulder check when turning or changing lanes is one of the most common serious faults there is. Equally common: too little lateral clearance when passing cyclists. Neither is a detail — they are precisely the situations that produce the serious collisions in city traffic.
- Shoulder check when turning and changing lanes
- Enough lateral clearance for cyclists
- Walking pace at stops with passengers
- Readiness to brake near children
Common questions
How much clearance must I leave when passing a cyclist?
At least 1.5 metres in built-up areas and at least 2 metres outside them. If that clearance is not available, you do not overtake. The same applies where the cyclist is riding on a Schutzstreifen.
What applies when a bus stands at a stop with hazard lights on?
You may only pass at walking pace and with sufficient clearance, in both directions of travel. If necessary you have to wait. Passengers must not be obstructed or endangered.
Why is a mirror glance not enough when turning?
Because there is an area beside and diagonally behind the car that no mirror covers, and that is exactly where a cyclist rides when you turn right. Only the shoulder check — a brief turn of the head — covers it reliably.
Does consideration apply even when I have priority?
Yes. The basic rule of the road traffic regulations stands above everything: nobody may be endangered or obstructed more than is unavoidable. A formally correct right of way does not justify behaviour that puts somebody without a crumple zone at risk.