Priority on the right Germany
I read on the internet that increasingly Germany is using this in towns to keep speeds in check.Is this true?
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Having driven through Germany quite a lot in the last month or so I have seen no evidence of this if you mean that vehicles can come from a side road into a major road? What you do find is that there are more 40kph speed limits in small towns. I would say that generally German drivers are far more respectful of other drivers and pedestrians than say in France and Italy. You obviously have to keep an eye out for road markings as on some jucntions no one has priority.
David
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We too have just returned from Germany and did witness this practice on one occasion and twice in the Netherlands. The first incident in the Netherlands was startling as I couldn't tell from looking at the road junction why it should be the case. Fortunately
I was sitting having an ice cream in a cafe at the time and merely a witness. Have experienced this in some parts of rural France.99 times out of 100 priority is still with the main road user so not something to be overly concerned with. Just observe local drivers.
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I read on the internet that increasingly Germany is using this in towns to keep speeds in check.Is this true?
This has always been the case,
Right has right-of-way: When two public roads cross at an uncontrolled intersection, then right-of-way is always given to traffic
approaching from the right. This includes "T" intersections! . In Germany, you must yield to the right, even if you are on the through
road. This also includes the rare situation where a main road and small side street cross at an uncontrolled intersection.0 -
I read on the internet that increasingly Germany is using this in towns to keep speeds in check.Is this true?
This has always been the case,
Right has right-of-way: When two public roads cross at an uncontrolled intersection, then right-of-way is always given to traffic
approaching from the right. This includes "T" intersections! . In Germany, you must yield to the right, even if you are on the through
road. This also includes the rare situation where a main road and small side street cross at an uncontrolled intersection....as I said always been the case
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We have noticed new areas of Priorite a Droite in France - surprisingly in the middle of some towns. For the life of me, now, I can't remember where it was, (two different places) but they were towns we've driven through before when the priority was on
the main road and all the side turnings had 'Stop' signs. So my advice would be to take care, even in towns that you're familiar with in Germany, as well as France.We met Welsh caravanners some years ago, whose caravan had been written off when someone drove straight through their caravan on a road with Priorite a Droite.
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Always been the case in Germany and creeping in to other countries!
The same as traffic islands in this country!
So, keep your eyes peeled for the little tipped up squares on the signs in other countries.....unless you are watching your satnav of course
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Intersections without any signs specifically stating which approach has the right of way and where priority from the right consequently applies are not that common in Germany and usually found only on side roads in residential areas. I don't think that such
a case occurs anywhere along a 'Bundesstrasse' (the equivalent of an 'A' road in the UK) except at roundabouts.0 -
Lutz
As always thank you for your intervention. I was beginning to worry that in all the years I had been driving in Germany that I had missed something really important. On many main roads we have found speed reductions on the approach to intersections but never
any indication that we did not have priority. Obviously keeping to the lower speed limits helps to avoid the unexpected. Even in towns it is not something I have noticed. However I would say that German drivers tend to be pretty well mannered in the way they
treat their fellow drivers and therefore perhaps a bit more cautious when joining a main road especially if they see a foreign registered vehicle bearing down on them. A few days ago we were out on the bikes in Allensbach on the Bodensee. Cycles were diverted
off the main road and through a quieter residential part of the town. I noticed that at all intersections each road had a give way line painted on the road. Seemed a sensible thing to me to make people think before cutting across a junction at speed.David
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Don't forget that on roundabouts on the continent you generally have to give way to the left.
However as David suggests I watch for road markings which are the best guide!
Good idea. To rely on road markings is best because even if there is no sign, vehicles coming from the right do not automatically have right of way. An obvious mark on the road, whether painted or indicated by low kerbstones (as often the case of access drives) will also invalidate possible priority rights.
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Having read this thread I decided to watch the dash cam footage of our trip from the Bodensee to Molsheim in France. It was a lovely cross country route and I paid particular attention to the road markings on roads coming in from the right. Without exception
all had give way road markings, even in towns. So I can only conclude that giving way to traffic coming from the right is fairly rare and perhaps only in circumstances mentioned by Lutz?David
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We have always understood that in Germany it is the same as Austria. If there is not a sign saying otherwise the speed limit on seeing the town/village sign is 50 kph which is 31.7mph. Yes there are certainly a lot more 40 kph signs now which is 25 mph and seems very slow.
DianneT
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