When a priority road changes its direction, Who has to give way? Einstellungen

[GMaximus]

Hello!

Let me ask a question about driving rules in Germany please.

A priority road changes its direction:


Car_1 has intention to go straight forward, car_2 is moving along the priority road. Their trajectories collide, so who has the priority?

I know that there are clear road markings in vast majority of multiple-lane intersections in Germany. But sometimes they aren't!
Like this one:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.358061,12.36...urce=gplus-ogsb

Vienna convention on road traffic, which acts as the basis for the traffic rules in European countries, doesn't have a straight answer for this situation. Is there a strict solution for this in German traffic regulations?

[klausimausi]

Car_2 has the priority!

Car_1 is changing the line and therefor crossing Car_2

Regards,
Klaus

[GMaximus]

There are no road markings for them to make their judge about lanes (and that's why the markings are usually present, i guess).
Is there an official explanation on who has to give way in such a situation? Some paragraph in StVO, or an official commentary?

[Pistenteufel]

I agree with Klaus but i'm no expert.

If vehicle 2 is slow (bicycle for example) and vehicle 1 fast, vehicle 1 would be a threat for vehicle 2 by crossing the line of vehicle 1.
That's not allowed in this case, though both drive on the priority road.

http://www.verkehrsportal.de/stvo/stvo_07.php
(5) In allen Fällen darf ein Fahrstreifen nur gewechselt werden, wenn eine Gefährdung anderer Verkehrsteilnehmer ausgeschlossen ist. Jeder Fahrstreifenwechsel ist rechtzeitig und deutlich anzukündigen; dabei sind die Fahrtrichtungsanzeiger zu benutzen.

I think important thing in this case is that vehicle 2 uses turn indicator (Fahrtrichtungsanzeiger / Blinker) respectively hand signal for bicyclist.

[NMY]

Road markings are not always necessary (but often helpful). If the road allows two-lane traffic in one direction then this road is a two-lane road, even if no marking are present. I agree with Klaus and Pistenteufel.

[CvR]

I think its a little bit more difficult - and I would even say: It doesn't matter if it's a priority road or not. So I think we can solve this problem without any signs an road markings. Therefore we have to think about that (and what ) both of the cars seem to have done wrong.

At first, both cars are in the wrong position. The one who wants to turn left must be next to the bold line in your drawing. The StVO says (in § 9), for turning left you have to be situated next to the middle of the road, especially you have to chose the left lane for this, even if its not marked. If there is enough space for another vehicel passing at the left side, something goes wrong.

At second, the car that wants to turn left has to make use of its indicators. But when using those, no one is allowed to pass at the left side (even if there was enough space). But there are two ways how this situation could happen:
(1) Car_1 tried to overtake Car_2 at the left side. That would be not allowed (§5 (7) StVO). After signalising to turn left, other vehicels have to overtake Car_2 at the right side.
(2) Car_2 tried to overtake Car_1 at the right side, or both cars were driving side by side before. In that case, Car_2 would have to make sure that turning left is possible without causing any trouble. (Beyond that: Everyone has to make sure that turning left is "possible", but starting from the right lane and "knowing" that there is another car at the left it's even more dramatic...)

[Anderssen]

It's true that vehicle 2 has to use his turn signals, but in every other respect this situation (on a priority road bearing left) is legally equivalent to this one on a priority road going straight ahead:


(the difference here, of course, is that vehicle 1 is the one who has to use his turn signals, but that's it)

Vehicle 2 is doing perfectly fine, and he doesn't have to situate himself next to the division line or anything.
But vehicle 1 is crossing vehicle 2's lane, which he may not do, since he's endangering him ( § 7 (5) StVO ).
Furthermore, in order to turn right, he has to get in lane first (i. e. get to the right, § 9 (1) StVO ), which he hasn't done.
Finally (since it looks like no. 1 is overtaking no. 2) he may not obstruct the vehicle being overtaken ( § 5 (4) StVO ).
No. 1 is the wrongdoer in every conceivable way here.


The situation on a priority road bearing left is basically the same. “Turning left” here is considered legally equivalent to going straight ahead.
As a hint: In order to solve a conflict situation on a priority road bearing left or right, you just have to “straighten” the road in your mind. Then the solution will be obvious.

[Oliver]

It's true that vehicle 2 has to use his turn signals, but in every other respect this situation (on a priority road bearing left) is legally equivalent to this one on a priority road going straight ahead

I do not agree with this statement at all. Bent priority roads are a means of regulating the priority between the vehicles from different directions (German term Vorfahrt). They do not incorporate rules about turning. Therefore the same turning rules apply which also apply if there were no bent priority road at the same crossroads. These are:

A vehicle which is changing its direction must stick to that side of the track to which it is turning. A vehicle which is moving in straight direction can use any lane.

Therefore, car no. 1 of the original post can keep left whereas car no. 2 must not use the right lane.

However, things are different if there are
- road markings for separating lanes that turn left
- such markings and additionally arrow marks that indicate which lane must be used for turning or moving straight on.

If there are such road markings for the single lanes they must follow the priority road (source: VwV StVO Zeichen 306/307 IV 2).

[NMY]

Well, obviously the answer to this question:

Is there a strict solution for this in German traffic regulations?

is: No, there are no strict rules for this situation.

[Oliver]

I think there is one. In my understanding the driver of car 1 behaves perfectly correctly.

[Heinz Wäscher]

Both vehicles are on the priority road, vehicle 1 ist driving straightforward while vehicle 2 is turning left with flashing turning signals

Rules of the Road

Often, priority roads make turns at intersections in towns. These turns are indicated by schematic signs showing the direction of the turn. (On the schematic, you are approaching from the bottom.) Traffic proceeding in the direction of the thick line has the right-of-way. Traffic leaving the priority road must yield to other traffic continuing along the priority road but still has the right-of-way over traffic on the other streets.

[Anderssen]

Traffic leaving the priority road must yield to other traffic continuing along the priority road

Very well put, in just one sentence.

[NMY]

I can follow both, the explanations that Oliver gave, and those that Anderssen, Heinz Wäscher, et. al. gave. For both contradicting solutions you can find reasoning in the German traffic law. AFAIK there is no rule within the German traffic law that directly states a regulation for this case. And as I understand the OP, this is what is asked. I stand by my answer #9.

[Oliver]

Traffic leaving the priority road must yield to other traffic continuing along the priority road but still has the right-of-way over traffic on the other streets

Can I have a reference to the respective regulation, please? The priority mentioned in the sentence is Vorrang, not Vorfahrt and can be a result of traffic regulations other than that of the priority road (such as it is the case when crossing a bicycle lane).

Car_1 is changing the line and therefor crossing Car_2

This claim is also highly doubtful. It is certainly true with marked lanes along the priority road. But who says that unmarked lanes follow the priority road? Without further information, they might go straight on and leave the priority road.

[mir]

German law does not solve situations like this but leaves it to the courts. That's why we can discuss about things endlessly.

[Gast_münsterland-radler_*]

Let's make an example for the google-maps-linked intersection:

There are streetcar rails in the middle of the priority road (Kirchplatz). So if you want to go to Berggartenstraße, the streetcar turning right and following the priority road has the right of way. Vehicles on the other side of the street (the streetcar, too) have the right of way. Vehicles approaching from Berggartenstraße and turning left have to yield to you.

StVO:

§9 Abbiegen, Wenden und Rückwärtsfahren

(1) Wer abbiegen will, muß dies rechtzeitig und deutlich ankündigen; dabei sind die Fahrtrichtungsanzeiger zu benutzen. Wer nach rechts abbiegen will, hat sein Fahrzeug möglichst weit rechts, wer nach links abbiegen will, bis zur Mitte, auf Fahrbahnen für eine Richtung möglichst weit links einzuordnen, und zwar rechtzeitig. Wer nach links abbiegen will, darf sich auf längs verlegten Schienen nur einordnen, wenn er kein Schienenfahrzeug behindert. Vor dem Einordnen und nochmals vor dem Abbiegen ist auf den nachfolgenden Verkehr zu achten; vor dem Abbiegen ist es dann nicht nötig, wenn eine Gefährdung des nachfolgenden Verkehrs ausgeschlossen ist.

(3) Wer abbiegen will, muß entgegenkommende Fahrzeuge durchfahren lassen, Schienenfahrzeuge, Fahrräder mit Hilfsmotor und Radfahrer auch dann, wenn sie auf oder neben der Fahrbahn in der gleichen Richtung fahren. Dies gilt auch gegenüber Linienomnibussen und sonstigen Fahrzeugen, die gekennzeichnete Sonderfahrstreifen benutzen. Auf Fußgänger muß er besondere Rücksicht nehmen; wenn nötig muß er warten.

So in the painted example, vehicle 2 could be a bicylist who has the right of way.

These are the rules for the sign showing the way of the priority road (Abknickende Vorfahrtstraße, StVO Anlage 3 lfd. Nr. 2.1) :

Ge- oder Verbot
1. Fahrzeugführer, die dem Verlauf der abknickenden Vorfahrtstraße folgen wollen, müssen dies rechtzeitig und deutlich ankündigen; dabei sind die Fahrtrichtungsanzeiger zu benutzen.
2. Sie haben auf Fußgänger besondere Rücksicht zu nehmen. Wenn nötig, müssen sie warten.

Drivers who follow the prority road have to indicate.
They have to take care for pedestrians and wait if it's necessary. (This means, pedestrians have the right of way. But be careful if you are a pedestrian at such an intersection, probably nobody will wait for you.)

These rules are only for priority roads with an extra sign under the priority road sign, like

[mir]

Die Sprachendiskussion wurde in den talk-Bereich abgesplittet.

[aquarian]

As far as I know, German courts say that following a bent priority road is eqivalent to driving straight ahead, and leaving a bent priority road in any direction is equivalent to turning right or left (depending on the direction of the priority road). The priority (Vorrang) rules apply accordingly - you just need to straighten the priority road in your mind. The only exception is the blinking rules: You'll have to use the blinker if you follow the bent priority road, but must NOT use it if you leave it straight ahead. (That's a bit confusing, and even most German drivers tend to use their blinkers wrong on bent priority intersections. So don't get confused: Blinking has nothing to to with turning and priority rules in this special case.)

According to this interpretation of German courts ("following a bent priority road is equivalent to driving straight ahead"), both lanes follow the two-lane bent priority road, in your example. (It doesn't matter that there are no lane markings: Two lanes exist whenever there is enough space for two lanes - and unless otherwise indicated, the lanes always follow the road).

According to German law, one has to drive as far on the right as possible before turning right, and as far on the left as possible (next to the middle of the road) before turning left. Leaving the bent priority road straight ahead corresponds to a right turn, in your example (since the priority road turns left). Therefore, one must use the right lane to leave the priority road straight forward, whereas one can use EITHER lane to follow the priority road to the left. If another car leaves the priority road from the left lane, that's at least regarded as a turn from the wrong lane (it's a right turn in the legal sense). It may not be strictly forbidden (since there are no arrows on the lanes), but at least it means that this car looses its priority.

German law does not answer your question directly, but German courts have decided that leaving a bent priority road corresponds to making a turn, and therefore turning rules apply accordingly, including priority (Vorrang) rules. E.g. there is a verdict stating that bike lanes that follow a bent priority road have priority over vehicles that cross these lanes by leaving the priority road straight ahead. In my opinion, this leads to the logical conclusion that in case of two-lane bent priority roads, BOTH lanes follow the priority road unless otherwise indicated. (So just straighten the priority road in your mind and use the according lanes.)

[Pjotr]

In german driving schools you learn, that a pedestrian who would be walking on the left sidewalk but wants to cross the road that car 2 wants to move in, has priority bevore car 2. in other words, car 2 would have to wait an give priority to a pedestrian who is crossong the street but going in the same direction as car 1.
why wouldnt that be the case if there's a car? in germany there is a very easy basic rule, in german you would say "Geradeausverkehr hat vorrang vor abbiegendem verkehr" wich means in english, that a car, a bike or what ever that is changing its direction has to give priority to a vehicle moving straigt ahead.

German law does not answer your question directly, but German courts have decided that leaving a bent priority road corresponds to making a turn, and therefore turning rules apply accordingly, including priority (Vorrang) rules. E.g. there is a verdict stating that bike lanes that follow a bent priority road have priority over vehicles that cross these lanes by leaving the priority road straight ahead. In my opinion, this leads to the logical conclusion that in case of two-lane bent priority roads, BOTH lanes follow the priority road unless otherwise indicated. (So just straighten the priority road in your mind and use the according lanes.)

in context to the pedestrian case i can not really believe this. this would mean pedestrians and vehciles are treated different.

[aquarian]

in context to the pedestrian case i can not really believe this. this would mean pedestrians and vehciles are treated different.

I know what you mean. But the rule that vehicles following the bent priority road have to give the right of way to pedestrians does NOT result from §9(3) StVO. It results from §42, Anlage 3, and it is a special and additional pedestrian rule for bent priority roads. (You'll find it next to the according additional sign).

That means that §9(3) is apllicable in the sense of the bent priority road. It means that vehicles that leave the bent priority road straight ahead have to give the right of way to pedestrians, cyclists on bike lanes, trams etc. - namely to all traffic following the priority road. IN ADDITION, §42 says that vehicles following the bent priority road ALSO have to give the right of way to pedestrians who cross it. But this has nothing to do with §9(3) StVO; it's an additional special rule. Probably it was added to the StVO because one cannot expect pedestrians to know traffic rules exactly or even to read priority signs. It was added for the safety of pedestrians who could be misconducted by the difficult priority rules at bent priority intersections.

So vehicles have to give the right of way to crossing pedestrians at bent priority intersections in ANY case - no matter if the vehicles FOLLOW or LEAVE the bent priority road. In the first case it's because of the special regulation in §42, in the second case it's because of the normal priority regulations in §9(3) that then apply in the sense of the ongoing (bent) priority road.

Unfortunately, the additional rule in §42, that should PROTECT pedestrians, lead to new problems, since many drivers just don't know it. As this could lead to an endangerment of pedestrians (due to drivers who assume pedestrians would have to wait), law now enforces the installation of barriers at such intersections, in order to prevent pedestrians from crossing them.

[GMaximus]

It's an interesting discussion, thanks to all the participants!
The problem is the point of view on who is making turn, so it would be great to see more evidence of court practice.

[Pistenteufel]

Car 1 is making the turn.

I don't know if i'm correct but here might be a useful decision from court.

You can translate the website with google for example.

http://www.verkehrslexikon.de/Texte/Vorfahrt26.php
BayObLG v. 30.12.1985: Wer die in einen Linksbogen führende Vorfahrtstraße, deren Verlauf nach StVO § 42 Abs 2 durch Zeichen 306 mit Zusatzschild bekanntgegeben ist, geradeaus fahrend verläßt, biegt (nach rechts) ab, darf dies aber nicht durch Richtungszeichen anzeigen. Wer jedoch der auf dem Zusatzzeichen angezeigten Richtung folgt, muss dies durch Blinken anzeigen.

That means: When you leave the priority road by going straight ahead, you are making a turn (in the case of your picture to the right)

[mir]

it would be great to see more evidence of court practice.

Take a look at verkehrslexikon.de. There's a lot of court decisions, but don't expect me to translate them ... Perhaps it is a bit of help for you, still.

[Cookiedeluxe]

Well, obviously the answer to this question:

Is there a strict solution for this in German traffic regulations?

is: No, there are no strict rules for this situation.

Absolutely impossible. We are in Germany after all.

[aquarian]

http://www.verkehrslexikon.de/Texte/Vorfahrt26.php
BayObLG v. 30.12.1985: Wer die in einen Linksbogen führende Vorfahrtstraße, deren Verlauf nach StVO § 42 Abs 2 durch Zeichen 306 mit Zusatzschild bekanntgegeben ist, geradeaus fahrend verläßt, biegt (nach rechts) ab, darf dies aber nicht durch Richtungszeichen anzeigen. Wer jedoch der auf dem Zusatzzeichen angezeigten Richtung folgt, muss dies durch Blinken anzeigen.

I'll try to translate that:

"If a bent priority road leads to the left and a driver leaves this road by going straight ahead, (s)he turns right in the legal sense, but MUST NOT use the blinker for this turn. On the other hand, if (s)he follows the bent priority road, (s)he must use the blinker (but does not make a turn)."

The priority (Vorrang) rules then apply accordingly.

Bent priority roads are quite difficult, even for German drivers, since there is a number of special regulations:

1. Straighten the bent priority road in your mind, and apply the priority (Vorrang) rules accordingly. (According to German law, vehicles that make a turn in ANY direction have to give way to other vehicles and pedestrians whose lanes they cross. This can refer to bike lanes, bus lanes, trams, pedestrians, etc. - or in the most simple case: opposite traffic).

2. Special rule: Use the blinker according to the actual direction. Use the blinker if you follow the bent priority road - do not use it if you leave it by going straight ahead. (That's a bit confusing).

3. Special rule: Pedestrians have the right of way when they cross bent priority intersections in ANY case. Even if you follow the bent priority road, you must give way to crossing pedestrians. (If you leave it, they have the right of way anyway.)

By the way:

German law knows two different kinds of priority:

1. VORFAHRT: This refers to roads having general priority over other roads. In general, the street on the left has to give way to the street on the right ("rechts vor links"-rule), unless there are special priority signs or traffic lights.

2. VORRANG: If two vehicles come from the SAME road (thus having the same Vorfahrt status), Vorrang rules will apply. Summarized, the most important Vorrang rules are the following two: 1. Turning vehicles must give way to anyone whose lanes they cross - and 2. Left turning traffic has to give way to right turning traffic in the opposite direction.

3. Ordinary Traffic lights overrule VORFAHRT rules (and according priority signs), but not VORRANG rules. (A green traffic light means that cross traffic has a red light - but if you make a turn, you'll still have to give way to all the vehicles and pedestrians whose lanes you cross, including bike lanes, bus lanes and trams).

4. However, green traffic lights with an ARROW mean that ANYONE whose lane you might cross has a red light. Traffic lights with an arrow indicate that your turn is safe.

5. Green arrows on a black sign (not a traffic light) mean that you may turn right although the traffic light is red (otherwise it's strictly forbidden). However, you have to STOP first (it's like an integrated stop sign), and you must give way to crossing traffic then (including bikes and pedestrians). If you forget to stop, our laws even regard this as fully running over a red light.