What does that German road sign mean?

What it legally means

Zeichen 306, StVO Anlage 3. You have Vorfahrt (right of way) at every junction on this road until the next Zeichen 205, 206 or 307. It also carries a parking rule: outside built-up areas you may not park on the carriageway of a Vorfahrtstraße.

In plain English

Yellow diamond = this road wins. Every side road that meets it waits for you, junction after junction, until the diamond is cancelled. You do not slow for the junction itself.

What you are looking at

A yellow square rotated 45°, with a white border band and a thin black outer edge. No pictogram.

Remember it like this

Diamond = the road's crown. Only one road at the junction wears it.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ende der VorfahrtstraßeEnd of priority road
• Vorfahrt gewährenGive way / yield
• VorfahrtPriority at the next junction
• Zusatzzeichen „Verlauf der Vorfahrtstraße“Supplementary plate: course of the priority road

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 307, StVO Anlage 3. Your priority ends here; from the next junction the ordinary rules apply, normally rechts vor links (§8 Abs. 1 StVO).

In plain English

The same diamond with one black line through it. From here you are an ordinary road user again — and the change happens at the sign, not when it starts to feel different.

What you are looking at

The Zeichen 306 diamond with a single black diagonal bar running corner to corner.

Remember it like this

Crossed-out crown.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• VorfahrtstraßePriority road

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 205, StVO Anlage 2. You must let traffic on the crossing road go first. Stopping is not compulsory if the road is genuinely clear, but you must approach slowly enough that you could stop.

In plain English

The only upside-down triangle in the system. Yield — but you may roll straight through an empty junction. That single permission is the whole difference from Stop.

What you are looking at

Equilateral triangle pointing DOWN, thick red border, white face, nothing inside.

Remember it like this

The triangle points down because you are the one going down the pecking order.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• VorfahrtstraßePriority road
• Halt. Vorfahrt gewähren.Stop and give way
• KreisverkehrRoundabout
• Kreuzung mit Vorfahrt von rechtsCrossroads — right before left applies
• Zusatzzeichen „Verlauf der Vorfahrtstraße“Supplementary plate: course of the priority road

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 206, StVO Anlage 2. You must come to a complete standstill at the Haltlinie (Zeichen 294), or where you can see if there is no line, and then give way.

In plain English

The only eight-sided sign there is. Wheels not turning — compulsory at three in the morning on an empty road. 'It was clear' is a defence at a Give way sign and no defence at all here.

What you are looking at

Red octagon, thin white rim, the word STOP in white capitals across the middle.

Remember it like this

Eight sides, and you count one full second before moving.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorfahrt gewährenGive way / yield
• HaltlinieStop line
• GrünpfeilGreen right-turn arrow

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 301, StVO Anlage 3. The StVO states it plainly: you have priority at the NEXT junction — and only that one.

In plain English

Look at the thickness of the lines. The thick one is your road, the thin one crosses it, so you go first. Unlike the yellow diamond, this expires at the junction it describes.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle; inside, a black vertical THICK bar crossed by a thin horizontal bar.

Remember it like this

Thick line = your line. One junction only.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• VorfahrtstraßePriority road
• Kreuzung mit Vorfahrt von rechtsCrossroads — right before left applies
• Einmündung mit Vorfahrt von rechtsSide road joins — right before left applies

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 308, StVO Anlage 3. At the narrow section ahead you have priority over oncoming traffic.

In plain English

Blue square, big white arrow pointing your way, small red arrow pointing back at them. The gap is yours first.

What you are looking at

Blue square; a tall white arrow pointing up, and beside it a shorter red arrow pointing down.

Remember it like this

The red arrow is always the one that must wait. Here red points away from you.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorrang des GegenverkehrsGive way to oncoming traffic
• Verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows (both sides)
• Einseitig verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows on one side
• GegenverkehrTwo-way traffic ahead

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 208, StVO Anlage 2. At the narrow section ahead, oncoming traffic goes first; you wait clear of the gap.

In plain English

Round with a red rim, and the red arrow points at YOU. Red is the one that waits — and here red is you.

What you are looking at

White circle, red rim; on the LEFT a bold black arrow pointing DOWN (the oncoming traffic, which has priority), on the RIGHT a slimmer red arrow pointing UP (your direction — you wait).

Remember it like this

Round + red rim = a rule aimed at you. Square + blue = a favour granted to you.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorrang vor dem GegenverkehrPriority over oncoming traffic
• Verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows (both sides)
• GegenverkehrTwo-way traffic ahead
• Verbot der EinfahrtNo entry

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 215, StVO Anlage 2. You must follow the circulation direction shown, which in right-hand traffic is anticlockwise — you turn right on entry and keep the central island on your left. You may not drive over the island (except oversized vehicles that cannot otherwise get round) and may not stop on the circulating carriageway. Almost always mounted together with Zeichen 205, which is what actually gives priority to traffic already circulating.

In plain English

Three arrows chasing each other anticlockwise in a blue circle. If Zeichen 205 is under it, traffic already going round wins and you wait for a gap. Inside the circle: no stopping on the carriageway, and never across the central island.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with three white curved arrows arranged in a ring, circulating ANTICLOCKWISE (gegen den Uhrzeigersinn) — the direction traffic actually runs round a German roundabout.

Remember it like this

Entry: no indicator. Exit: right indicator. That is the whole rule.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorfahrt gewährenGive way / yield
• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — rechtsTurn right (at the junction)

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 201, StVO Anlage 2: you must give rail traffic Vorrang (priority). No parking for up to 5 m before AND after the sign inside a built-up area, or up to 50 m before and after outside one; and no stopping within 10 m in front of it if that would hide it. A black arrow on a Zusatzzeichen means the cross applies only to traffic going that way.

In plain English

The red-and-white X standing at the crossing itself. On its own it already means: trains win, no exceptions, no other sign needed.

What you are looking at

Two crossed bars forming an X, red with white centres and white tips. A flattened, wide version (liegendes Andreaskreuz) is used where there is not enough height to mount the upright cross. A lightning arrow in the centre means the line has a live overhead wire.

Remember it like this

X marks the one place where you are never the priority.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• BahnübergangLevel crossing ahead
• Einstreifige BakeOne-stripe countdown marker (80 m)

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 294, StVO Anlage 2. A solid white transverse line marking where you must stop at a Stop sign, a red light or a rail crossing.

In plain English

The line your front bumper must not cross. If it is missing at a Stop sign, you stop where you can actually see — which is usually further forward, and that is legal.

What you are looking at

A thick solid white bar painted across the lane, at right angles to the direction of travel.

Remember it like this

Solid line across = a wall. Dashed line across (Wartelinie) = a suggestion of where to wait.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Halt. Vorfahrt gewähren.Stop and give way
• FahrstreifenbegrenzungSolid lane line
• Fußgängerüberweg (Markierung)Zebra crossing (road marking)

Vorfahrtzeichen (Priority) — who goes first — the one family with its own shapes. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101, StVO Anlage 1. Warns of a hazard that has no pictogram of its own; a Zusatzzeichen underneath usually names it.

In plain English

The general-purpose warning: something needs your attention and there was no picture for it. Outside a town it stands 150–250 m before whatever it is.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a single bold black exclamation mark.

Remember it like this

The sign that says 'read the plate underneath'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Schleuder- oder RutschgefahrSlippery road
• SeitenwindCrosswind
• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks
• StauTraffic queue likely
• Bewegliche BrückeOpening bridge
• FlugbetriebLow-flying aircraft
• Zusatzzeichen zur GefahrenangabeSupplementary plate: names the hazard

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 102, StVO Anlage 1. An unregulated crossroads is coming; §8 Abs. 1 StVO applies, so traffic from your right goes first.

In plain English

A cross with all four lines the SAME thickness. That equal thickness is the entire message: nobody has been favoured, so the fallback rule takes over.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black cross inside, all four arms of equal thickness.

Remember it like this

Equal lines, equal rights — so the tie-breaker is the right-hand side.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorfahrt gewährenGive way / yield
• VorfahrtPriority at the next junction
• Einmündung mit Vorfahrt von rechtsSide road joins — right before left applies

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 102 (T-junction variant), StVO Anlage 1. A side road joins yours; because no priority has been assigned, §8 Abs. 1 StVO applies.

In plain English

A T shape, and the stem shows which side the other road comes in. Side road on your right → they go first. Side road on your left → you go first.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black T shape, all lines equal thickness; the stem points left or right depending on the real junction.

Remember it like this

The bigger, straighter road does NOT automatically win. Shape gives nobody priority — only direction does.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• VorfahrtPriority at the next junction
• Kreuzung mit Vorfahrt von rechtsCrossroads — right before left applies

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 103-20, StVO Anlage 1. A bend sharp enough to need warning; reduce speed before you reach it (§3 Abs. 1 StVO).

In plain English

The symbol mirrors the real road, so the drawn curve tells you which way it goes. Do all your braking before you turn the wheel.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a thick black arrow-headed line curving to the right.

Remember it like this

Cornering load grows with the square of speed — entering 40% faster nearly doubles what you ask of the tyres.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Kurve (links)Bend to the left
• Doppelkurve (zunächst rechts)Double bend, first to the right
• Schleuder- oder RutschgefahrSlippery road

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 103-10, StVO Anlage 1. The mirror image of Zeichen 103-20.

In plain English

Same sign, other direction. On a left bend you can see further round it — which is exactly why drivers carry too much speed into them.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a thick black arrow-headed line curving to the left.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Kurve (rechts)Bend to the right
• Doppelkurve (zunächst links)Double bend, first to the left

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 105-20, StVO Anlage 1. Two bends in succession; the first goes the way the top of the symbol goes.

In plain English

Like a single bend, but you get no straight bit in between to sort yourself out. Set your speed before the first one.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black S-shaped line, arrow at the top, curving right first.

Remember it like this

Read the TOP of the S — that is the bend you meet first.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Kurve (rechts)Bend to the right
• Doppelkurve (zunächst links)Double bend, first to the left

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 105-10, StVO Anlage 1. Two bends in succession, the first to the left.

In plain English

The mirror image. Accelerating out of the first bend as usual is what puts people into the second one too fast.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black S-shaped line, arrow at the top, curving left first.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Kurve (links)Bend to the left
• Doppelkurve (zunächst rechts)Double bend, first to the right

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 108, StVO Anlage 1. A downhill gradient, with the percentage shown.

In plain English

Gravity will do the accelerating for you. Choose a low gear BEFORE you start down and let the engine hold the speed.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle; a black wedge sloping DOWN to the right, with a percentage such as 12% written in it.

Remember it like this

Riding the brake all the way down overheats the discs, the pedal goes soft, and then you have no brakes at all.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• SteigungSteep ascent

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 110, StVO Anlage 1. An uphill gradient, with the percentage shown.

In plain English

The wedge climbs instead of falling. Expect slow lorries, and change down before the engine starts labouring, not after.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle; a black wedge rising to the right, with a percentage such as 10%.

Remember it like this

The slope in the picture is the slope of the road. Read it like a side view.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefälleSteep descent

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 112, StVO Anlage 1. Bumps, dips, potholes or a broken surface ahead.

In plain English

Two humps in a triangle. Braking hard on a bump unloads the tyres exactly when you need grip — slow down before the rough bit, not on it.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with two black bumps (a wave) along the base.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Schleuder- oder RutschgefahrSlippery road
• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 114, StVO Anlage 1. The surface may offer poor grip. Often carries the plate 'bei Nässe' (Zusatzzeichen 1053-35), which limits the warning to wet conditions.

In plain English

Ice, wet leaves, spilled diesel, fresh tarmac, gravel. Brake and steer in gentle, separate movements — never both hard at once.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle; a black car seen from behind with two curved skid trails behind its wheels.

Remember it like this

Four-wheel drive and electronics cannot create grip that is not there. They only share out the grip you have.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger
• Kurve (rechts)Bend to the right
• Unebene FahrbahnUneven road surface
• Schnee- oder EisglätteSnow or ice
• Splitt, SchotterLoose chippings / gravel
• Zusatzzeichen „bei Nässe“Supplementary plate: when wet

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 117, StVO Anlage 1. Strong side wind, typically on bridges, at cuttings and beside woodland breaks.

In plain English

A windsock. The dangerous moment is not the gust itself — it is the sudden calm when you pass behind a lorry, and again when you come out the other side.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black windsock on a pole, blowing sideways.

Remember it like this

Both hands on the wheel, and ease off before the bridge, not on it.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 120, StVO Anlage 1. The carriageway narrows from both sides. It gives priority to nobody.

In plain English

Both edges squeeze in. This sign settles nothing about who goes first — only Zeichen 208 and 308 do that. Whoever has the space yields.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with two black vertical lines that lean towards each other at the top.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorrang vor dem GegenverkehrPriority over oncoming traffic
• Vorrang des GegenverkehrsGive way to oncoming traffic
• Einseitig verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows on one side
• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 121, StVO Anlage 1. The carriageway narrows from one side only; the sign shows which.

In plain English

One line stays straight, the other leans in. The leaning side is the side you lose.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle; one vertical black line straight, the other leaning inwards (variant -10 narrows from the left, -20 from the right).

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorrang vor dem GegenverkehrPriority over oncoming traffic
• Verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows (both sides)
• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 123, StVO Anlage 1. Works on or beside the road. Usually accompanied by a temporary Zeichen 274 speed limit, which is enforceable exactly like a permanent one.

In plain English

Expect narrowed lanes, loose chippings, sudden lane switches, and people on foot a metre from moving traffic. Temporary limits here are heavily camera-enforced.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black figure of a worker shovelling, a mound of earth at their feet.

Remember it like this

Where yellow temporary markings disagree with the white ones underneath, yellow wins.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger
• Unebene FahrbahnUneven road surface
• Verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows (both sides)
• Einseitig verengte FahrbahnRoad narrows on one side
• Splitt, SchotterLoose chippings / gravel
• UmleitungDiversion
• LeitbakeGuide beacon (roadworks)

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 124, StVO Anlage 1. A tailback is likely ahead, typically out of sight beyond a crest or bend.

In plain English

Ease off early and switch your hazard lights on as you reach the back of the queue — you are now the obstacle the next driver cannot see.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle showing three black cars nose-to-tail, the rearmost lowest.

Remember it like this

The Rettungsgasse (rescue lane, §11 Abs. 2 StVO) has to be formed while traffic is still moving slowly — not after it stops.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger
• AutobahnMotorway

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 125, StVO Anlage 1. Traffic will now be coming towards you — typically at the end of a one-way section or a divided carriageway.

In plain English

Two arrows, one up, one down. It appears exactly where drivers have got comfortable with an empty opposite lane.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with two black vertical arrows side by side, one pointing up and one pointing down.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorrang vor dem GegenverkehrPriority over oncoming traffic
• Vorrang des GegenverkehrsGive way to oncoming traffic
• Ende der AutobahnEnd of motorway

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 131, StVO Anlage 1. Signals ahead, placed where they are hard to see in time — after a crest, round a bend, behind trees.

In plain English

Ease off; the light may already be counting down. Amber means stop unless you are so close that stopping would be unsafe (§37 StVO).

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle containing a small traffic light: black housing with red, amber and green discs.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GrünpfeilGreen right-turn arrow

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 133, StVO Anlage 1. A warning only — it gives pedestrians no right of way.

In plain English

Red triangle warns. The blue square (Zeichen 350) commands. Do not confuse the two: only at a marked Fußgängerüberweg must you actually let people cross (§26 StVO).

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black walking figure.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• KinderChildren
• Verbot für FußgängerNo pedestrians
• GehwegFootpath
• FußgängerüberwegZebra crossing (sign)

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 136, StVO Anlage 1. Children may be on or near the road. §3 Abs. 2a StVO raises the standard: towards children, elderly and disabled people you must drive so that any danger is excluded.

In plain English

Schools, playgrounds, housing estates. Children misjudge speed, act on impulse, and are short enough to be completely hidden by one parked car.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with two black child figures, one running ahead of the other.

Remember it like this

§3 Abs. 2a is the one paragraph where 'I was driving carefully' is not enough. The required outcome is that an accident is impossible, not merely unlikely.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• FußgängerPedestrians
• Beginn eines verkehrsberuhigten BereichsTraffic-calmed area (living street) begins
• Zusatzzeichen „Schule“Supplementary plate: school

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 138, StVO Anlage 1. Cyclists join or cross the carriageway here.

In plain English

A cycle path meets your road. Cyclists arrive faster and far more quietly than you expect, and e-bikes arrive faster still.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black bicycle in side view.

Remember it like this

Before any right turn: mirror, indicator, then physically turn your head. The mirror does not show the strip beside your rear wheel.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für RadverkehrNo cycling
• RadwegCompulsory cycle path
• Gemeinsamer Geh- und RadwegShared foot and cycle path

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 142, StVO Anlage 1. Deer and other wild animals cross here, most often at dawn and dusk where woodland meets open fields.

In plain English

Where one animal crosses, more usually follow. Dip the headlights — full beam freezes them — sound the horn, and scan the verges, not the tarmac.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black leaping deer in silhouette.

Remember it like this

If you cannot avoid it: brake hard and hold your line. Swerving into a tree or into oncoming traffic is far worse than hitting a deer.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ViehtriebLivestock
• AmphibienwanderungAmphibian migration

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-12 (mounted on the right) or 101-22 (on the left) — a Zeichen 101 variant from the Verkehrszeichenkatalog, StVO Anlage 1. Farm animals may be driven across or along the road.

In plain English

Rural roads at milking time. Animals are herded, not steered — stop and wait rather than nosing through the herd.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black cow in side view.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• WildwechselWild animals crossing
• ReiterHorse riders

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-13 (mounted on the right) or 101-23 (on the left), StVO Anlage 1. Horses and riders use this road.

In plain English

Pass wide and slow, and do not sound the horn. A horse that bolts takes its rider into your lane.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black horse and rider in silhouette.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ViehtriebLivestock
• ReitwegBridleway

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-51, StVO Anlage 1 (renumbered from the old Zeichen 113 in 2017). Warns of snow or black ice.

In plain English

Bridges, shaded cuttings and north-facing bends freeze first and thaw last. Winter tyres are situational law in Germany: §2 Abs. 3a StVO requires suitable tyres when there is ice, snow or slush, whatever the calendar says.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black snowflake / ice-crystal symbol.

Remember it like this

Germany has no fixed winter-tyre date. The rule is a condition, not a season.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Schleuder- oder RutschgefahrSlippery road
• Schneeketten vorgeschriebenSnow chains compulsory

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-52, StVO Anlage 1 (renumbered from the old Zeichen 116 in 2017).

In plain English

Loose stone on a fresh surface. Slow down for two reasons: your braking distance grows, and the stones you throw up crack the windscreen behind you.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle showing a car's rear wheel flinging small black stones backwards.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Schleuder- oder RutschgefahrSlippery road
• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks
• SteinschlagFalling rocks

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-15 or 101-25 depending on which side of the road it stands, StVO Anlage 1 (renumbered from the old Zeichen 115 in 2017).

In plain English

Rock can be on the road as well as still coming down. Do not stop to inspect the cliff — the hazard is above you.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black rock face on one side and stones tumbling down onto the road.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Splitt, SchotterLoose chippings / gravel

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-14 or 101-24 depending on mounting side, StVO Anlage 1. Frogs and toads cross in numbers on mild damp nights in spring.

In plain English

A frog in a triangle. Volunteers are often on the verge with buckets after dark — the real hazard is the people, not the amphibians.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black frog seen from above.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• WildwechselWild animals crossing

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-55, StVO Anlage 1. A bridge that lifts or swings for shipping.

In plain English

Common in the north and around canals. When it opens you simply wait — and the metal deck is slippery when wet.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle showing a black bascule bridge with one leaf raised.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger
• UferQuayside or riverbank

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-53, StVO Anlage 1. The road ends at, or runs alongside, deep water with no barrier.

In plain English

A car going off a quay. Rare, and worth knowing precisely because it is rare — the exam likes signs you cannot guess.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black car tipping off a quay edge into water.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Bewegliche BrückeOpening bridge

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 101-10 (mounted on the right) or 101-20 (on the left), StVO Anlage 1. Low aircraft, typically at an airfield boundary or runway approach.

In plain English

The hazard is not the aeroplane. It is the noise, the sudden shadow and every other driver looking up instead of ahead.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle with a black aircraft in a shallow dive from left to right.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 151, StVO Anlage 1. A railway crosses the road ahead — since the 2013 StVO this one sign covers both gated and ungated crossings (the old Zeichen 150 with the barrier symbol was withdrawn). §19 Abs. 1 StVO requires you to approach at moderate speed, and from this sign on you may not overtake motor vehicles until you are through the crossing.

In plain English

You will meet the countdown beacons at roughly 240, 160 and 80 m, then the Andreaskreuz at the crossing itself.

What you are looking at

Upright red-bordered triangle containing a black steam-locomotive silhouette. (The old barrier-and-fence pictogram, Zeichen 150, no longer exists.)

Remember it like this

Never enter the crossing unless you can get completely off the far side. Queueing traffic beyond the rails means you wait before them.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• AndreaskreuzSt Andrew's cross (level crossing)
• Dreistreifige BakeThree-stripe countdown marker (240 m)

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Roughly 240 m before a level crossing. Careful with the number: StVO Anlage 1 lists the combined board — Zeichen 156, Bahnübergang mit dreistreifiger Bake, which carries the locomotive symbol above the stripes. The plain three-striper without the symbol is Zeichen 157 (157-10 mounted on the right, 157-20 on the left) from the Verkehrszeichenkatalog. A markedly different distance may be printed in black figures above the stripes.

In plain English

Three red stripes. Each stripe is worth 80 m. This is where you start slowing, not where you start thinking about it.

What you are looking at

Tall white rectangle with three thick red diagonal stripes; the stripes always slope DOWN towards the carriageway, so a board on your right slopes up from left to right.

Remember it like this

RED stripes = railway, at 240/160/80 m. BLUE stripes = motorway exit, at 300/200/100 m. That swap is a favourite exam trick.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• BahnübergangLevel crossing ahead
• Zweistreifige BakeTwo-stripe countdown marker (160 m)
• Einstreifige BakeOne-stripe countdown marker (80 m)
• Ankündigungsbake (Autobahnausfahrt)Motorway exit countdown marker

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 159, StVO Anlage 1. Roughly 160 m before a level crossing.

In plain English

Two stripes, two thirds of the way used up. You should already be off the accelerator.

What you are looking at

Tall white rectangle with two thick red diagonal stripes sloping down towards the road.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Dreistreifige BakeThree-stripe countdown marker (240 m)
• Einstreifige BakeOne-stripe countdown marker (80 m)
• Ankündigungsbake (Autobahnausfahrt)Motorway exit countdown marker

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 162, StVO Anlage 1. Roughly 80 m before a level crossing — the last warning before the Andreaskreuz.

In plain English

One stripe left. By here you must already be at a speed you could stop from.

What you are looking at

Tall white rectangle with a single thick red diagonal stripe sloping down towards the road.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• AndreaskreuzSt Andrew's cross (level crossing)
• Dreistreifige BakeThree-stripe countdown marker (240 m)
• Zweistreifige BakeTwo-stripe countdown marker (160 m)
• Ankündigungsbake (Autobahnausfahrt)Motorway exit countdown marker

Gefahrzeichen (Warning) — get ready — it never orders you. usually a red triangle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 250, StVO Anlage 2. Closed to every kind of vehicle, in both directions. The StVO expressly exempts hand-drawn vehicles, and also riders, people leading horses and people driving livestock.

In plain English

An empty red circle: nothing on wheels goes through, from either end. You may still push a bicycle through — pushing makes you a pedestrian.

What you are looking at

White disc with a thick red rim and nothing inside.

Remember it like this

Empty circle = empty road. If there were a picture, only that picture would be banned.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot der EinfahrtNo entry
• Verbot für KraftfahrzeugeNo motor vehicles
• Beginn einer FußgängerzonePedestrian zone begins

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 267, StVO Anlage 2. You may not drive into the carriageway for which the sign is posted.

In plain English

A red disc with one white bar. You are at the wrong end of a one-way street — everything inside is coming at you. From the other end the same street shows Zeichen 220.

What you are looking at

Solid red disc with a broad white horizontal bar across the middle.

Remember it like this

No entry bans YOUR direction. 'No vehicles' (Zeichen 250) bans both directions. One bar, one direction.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorrang des GegenverkehrsGive way to oncoming traffic
• Verbot für Fahrzeuge aller ArtNo vehicles of any kind
• Verbot des WendensNo U-turn
• EinbahnstraßeOne-way street

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 260, StVO Anlage 2. Bans motorcycles (with or without sidecar), mopeds, cars and other multi-track motor vehicles. Bicycles are unaffected.

In plain English

Car plus motorbike in the circle: engines out, pedals fine. Check for a plate — 'Anlieger frei' lets residents and their visitors through.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim; a black motorcycle in side view ABOVE and a black car (front view) BELOW.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Fahrzeuge aller ArtNo vehicles of any kind
• Verbot für KraftwagenNo cars (and other multi-track motor vehicles)
• Verbot für KrafträderNo motorcycles
• Umweltzone (Beginn einer Verkehrsverbotszone)Low-emission zone begins

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 251, StVO Anlage 2. Bans cars and other multi-track motor vehicles. Motorcycles are NOT banned by this sign.

In plain English

One car in the circle, no motorbike. That absence is the whole exam question: a solo motorcycle may still pass.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a single black car seen from the front.

Remember it like this

Count the pictures. Two pictures (260) bans bikes too; one picture (251) does not.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für KraftfahrzeugeNo motor vehicles
• Verbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Verbot für KrafträderNo motorcycles
• KraftfahrstraßeExpressway (motor vehicles only)

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 253, StVO Anlage 2. Bans motor vehicles over 3.5 t permissible total mass, including their trailers, and Zugmaschinen (tractor units). The statute's own exception is the exam trap: Personenkraftwagen und Kraftomnibusse sind ausgenommen — cars and buses may pass even if they weigh more than 3.5 t.

In plain English

A lorry in the circle. Nothing to do with your car — but it is the anchor for the look-alike overtaking ban, Zeichen 277.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black lorry in side view.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für KraftwagenNo cars (and other multi-track motor vehicles)
• Verbot für kennzeichnungspflichtige Kraftfahrzeuge mit gefährlichen GüternNo vehicles carrying marked dangerous goods
• Tatsächliche MasseWeight limit (actual mass)
• Überholverbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo overtaking for goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Verbot des Unterschreitens des angegebenen MindestabstandesMinimum following distance
• Zusatzzeichen „Lkw“ / MassenangabeSupplementary plate: goods vehicles / mass

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 254, StVO Anlage 2. Bans the Radverkehr and, since 2019, Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge (e-scooters under the eKFV) too. Pushing the bicycle on foot remains allowed — a person pushing a bike counts as a pedestrian.

In plain English

Bicycle in a red circle = no riding. Bicycle in a BLUE circle = you must ride here. Same picture, opposite instruction — the rim colour is the whole message.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black bicycle in side view.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• RadverkehrCyclists crossing or joining
• Verbot des Überholens von einspurigen FahrzeugenNo overtaking of single-track vehicles
• RadwegCompulsory cycle path
• Beginn einer FahrradstraßeStart of a cycle street

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 255, StVO Anlage 2. Bans motorcycles, including those with sidecars, and mopeds.

In plain English

Common on scenic routes on summer weekends and outside hospitals. Cars are unaffected.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black motorcycle in side view.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für KraftfahrzeugeNo motor vehicles
• Verbot für KraftwagenNo cars (and other multi-track motor vehicles)

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 259, StVO Anlage 2. Pedestrians may not use this road or path.

In plain English

Walker in a red circle. As a driver this matters mostly as its blue twin: Zeichen 239, where only pedestrians may go.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black walking figure.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• FußgängerPedestrians
• GehwegFootpath

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 261, StVO Anlage 2. Bans motor vehicles carrying dangerous goods that must display hazard placards.

In plain English

Typical at tunnels and above drinking-water reservoirs. Not your problem in a car, but it is a standard exam distractor next to Zeichen 269.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black lorry with a rectangular hazard placard on its side.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Verbot für Fahrzeuge mit wassergefährdender LadungNo vehicles with water-polluting loads

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 269, StVO Anlage 2: you may not use the road with more than 20 litres of water-polluting load. It protects drinking-water catchments and reservoirs.

In plain English

Water-protection areas, usually near reservoirs and wells. Distinguished from Zeichen 261 by the wave symbol on the lorry.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black tanker lorry with a wavy-line (water) symbol.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für kennzeichnungspflichtige Kraftfahrzeuge mit gefährlichen GüternNo vehicles carrying marked dangerous goods

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 262, StVO Anlage 2. Bans vehicles whose ACTUAL mass — vehicle plus load, as it stands right now — exceeds the figure shown. For a combination the limit is applied to each vehicle separately, so car and trailer are weighed apart, not added together.

In plain English

The word 'tatsächlich' does the work. This is what your vehicle weighs today, not what its papers permit. A part-loaded lorry under the figure may pass.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black number with 't' (e.g. 5,5 t).

Remember it like this

Zeichen 253 uses the PERMITTED mass on the papers; Zeichen 262 uses the actual weight on the day.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Tatsächliche AchslastAxle-load limit

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 263, StVO Anlage 2. Bans vehicles whose actual load on any single axle exceeds the figure shown.

In plain English

The axle drawing is the tell. Used on weak bridges, where what matters is the weight at one point, not the total.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black axle with two wheels and a number with 't'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Tatsächliche MasseWeight limit (actual mass)

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 264, StVO Anlage 2. Bans vehicles wider than the figure shown, load and mirrors included.

In plain English

Two arrows pointing outwards. Mirrors and an overhanging load count towards your width — the number is the gap, not your bodywork.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, two black arrows pointing apart horizontally with a metre figure between them.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Tatsächliche HöheHeight limit
• Tatsächliche LängeLength limit

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 265, StVO Anlage 2. Bans vehicles taller than the figure shown, load included.

In plain English

Arrows pointing up and down. Roof boxes, bicycles on the roof and removal vans are what actually hit the bridge.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, two black arrows pointing up and down with a metre figure between them.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Tatsächliche BreiteWidth limit

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 266, StVO Anlage 2. Bans vehicles or combinations longer than the figure shown.

In plain English

The figure includes your trailer or caravan. On tight mountain hairpins the limit exists because a long vehicle physically cannot get round.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black lorry with trailer under a horizontal dimension arrow and a metre figure.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Tatsächliche BreiteWidth limit

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 274, StVO Anlage 2: you may not drive faster than the figure shown. It is a ceiling in ideal conditions, not a target — §3 Abs. 1 StVO still requires you to be able to stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

In plain English

In rain, fog, snow or heavy traffic the legal speed is often far below the number on the sign. And below 50 m visibility in fog, snow or rain, §3 Abs. 1 caps you at 50 km/h regardless of what the sign says.

What you are looking at

White disc, thick red rim, a large black number (e.g. 50).

Remember it like this

It ends at Zeichen 278, at Zeichen 282, at an Ortstafel — and nowhere else by itself.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ende der zulässigen HöchstgeschwindigkeitEnd of speed limit
• Vorgeschriebene MindestgeschwindigkeitMinimum speed
• Beginn einer Tempo 30-Zone30 km/h zone begins
• RichtgeschwindigkeitAdvisory speed (130 km/h)

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 278, StVO Anlage 2. That specific limit is lifted; the statutory default under §3 Abs. 3 StVO returns.

In plain English

Grey and struck through. Grey never introduces a rule, it only removes one — and what comes back is still a limit: 50 in town, 100 outside for cars, 80 if you are towing.

What you are looking at

White disc with a grey rim, the same number in grey, struck through by grey diagonal lines.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zulässige HöchstgeschwindigkeitSpeed limit
• Ende sämtlicher streckenbezogener Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkungen und ÜberholverboteEnd of all section restrictions
• Ende der vorgeschriebenen MindestgeschwindigkeitEnd of minimum speed

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 282, StVO Anlage 2. Lifts every speed limit and overtaking ban applying to that section, all at once.

In plain English

Grey with several diagonals. It cancels the lot — but the road's default limit is not cancelled, because a default is not a 'Streckenverbot'.

What you are looking at

White disc, grey rim, three or four parallel grey diagonal stripes and nothing else.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ende der zulässigen HöchstgeschwindigkeitEnd of speed limit
• Ende des Überholverbots für Kraftfahrzeuge aller ArtEnd of no-overtaking

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 276, StVO Anlage 2. You may not overtake multi-track motor vehicles or motorcycles with a sidecar. Single-track vehicles — bicycles, mopeds, solo motorcycles — may still be passed.

In plain English

Two cars, the overtaking one in red — red is the one doing the forbidden thing. It bans overtaking MOTOR vehicles, not everything on the road.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim; two cars side by side seen from the rear — the left (overtaking) one red, the right one black.

Remember it like this

Even when you may pass a cyclist, §5 Abs. 4 StVO requires 1.5 m of clearance in town and 2 m outside. If the road is too narrow to give it, you do not pass.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Überholverbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo overtaking for goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Verbot des Überholens von einspurigen FahrzeugenNo overtaking of single-track vehicles
• Ende des Überholverbots für Kraftfahrzeuge aller ArtEnd of no-overtaking

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 277, StVO Anlage 2. Only motor vehicles over 3.5 t permissible mass (including their trailers) and Zugmaschinen are forbidden to overtake — and even there, Personenkraftwagen und Kraftomnibusse sind ausgenommen. Ordinary cars are entirely unaffected. What is forbidden is overtaking multi-track motor vehicles and motorcycles with a sidecar.

In plain English

The red vehicle is a LORRY, not a car. That single difference flips who the sign is aimed at — and it is one of the most reliably failed look-alikes in the exam.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim; a red lorry on the left overtaking a black car on the right.

Remember it like this

Look at the RED vehicle. Red car = the ban is yours. Red lorry = it is not.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Überholverbot für Kraftfahrzeuge aller ArtNo overtaking
• Ende des Überholverbots für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tEnd of no-overtaking for goods vehicles over 3.5 t

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 277.1, StVO Anlage 2, full name 'Verbot des Überholens von einspurigen Fahrzeugen für mehrspurige Kraftfahrzeuge und Krafträder mit Beiwagen': if you drive a multi-track motor vehicle (or a motorcycle with a sidecar) you may not overtake SINGLE-track vehicles here — bicycles, mopeds, solo motorcycles. It is the mirror image of Zeichen 276, which bans overtaking the multi-track ones.

In plain English

The newer sign aimed squarely at cyclists' safety — narrow lanes where no car can leave the legal 1.5–2 m gap. Here you may not pass the bicycle either.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim; a red car on the left alongside a black bicycle on the right.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für RadverkehrNo cycling
• Überholverbot für Kraftfahrzeuge aller ArtNo overtaking

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 280, StVO Anlage 2. The Zeichen 276 ban is lifted.

In plain English

Grey version of the two cars. Permission returns — it is not an instruction to overtake, and the road may still be a bad place to try.

What you are looking at

White disc, grey rim, the two-car symbol in grey with grey diagonal strike-through lines.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ende sämtlicher streckenbezogener Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkungen und ÜberholverboteEnd of all section restrictions
• Überholverbot für Kraftfahrzeuge aller ArtNo overtaking
• Ende des Überholverbots für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tEnd of no-overtaking for goods vehicles over 3.5 t

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zeichen 281, StVO Anlage 2. Lifts the Zeichen 277 ban.

In plain English

Grey lorry-and-car. If you are in a car, neither this nor its red twin ever applied to you.

What you are looking at

White disc, grey rim, grey lorry-overtaking-car symbol, struck through.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Überholverbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo overtaking for goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Ende des Überholverbots für Kraftfahrzeuge aller ArtEnd of no-overtaking

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 273, StVO Anlage 2. A motor vehicle over 3.5 t permissible mass, or a Zugmaschine, must keep at least the stated distance to a vehicle of the SAME kind in front. Personenkraftwagen und Kraftomnibusse sind ausgenommen, so as a car driver the sign is not aimed at you — §4 StVO's ordinary distance rule still is.

In plain English

Used in tunnels and on weak bridges. Directed at heavy vehicles — but the underlying idea is the one that governs your car too: half the speedometer reading in metres, outside town.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, two black lorries nose-to-tail with a distance arrow and a metre figure between them.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo goods vehicles over 3.5 t

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 272, StVO Anlage 2. You may not turn round here.

In plain English

Common before busy junctions and on multi-lane city roads where one U-turn blocks everything. Go round the block instead.

What you are looking at

White disc, red rim, a black U-turn arrow struck through by a red diagonal bar.

Remember it like this

Even where it is allowed, §9 Abs. 5 StVO makes a driver turning round give way to everybody. The sign only removes an option you never had a right to anyway.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot der EinfahrtNo entry
• EinbahnstraßeOne-way street

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 286, StVO Anlage 2: you may not stop on the carriageway for longer than three minutes, except to let people in or out, or to load and unload. Under §12 Abs. 2 StVO you are 'parking' as soon as you leave the vehicle or exceed three minutes.

In plain English

ONE diagonal stroke. Fewer strokes, less strict. Three minutes is the clock — but the clock stops mattering the moment you walk away, because that is parking by definition.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a thick red rim and a single red diagonal stroke running from TOP-LEFT down to BOTTOM-RIGHT.

Remember it like this

One stroke = one thing banned (parking). Two strokes = two things banned (parking AND stopping).

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Absolutes HaltverbotNo stopping
• Beginn eines eingeschränkten Haltverbots für eine ZoneStart of a no-parking zone
• ParkenParking
• Zusatzzeichen „Seitenstreifen“Supplementary plate: verge / hard shoulder

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 283, StVO Anlage 2: stopping on the carriageway is forbidden. 'Halten' is a voluntary act — being held up by a red light or a queue is Warten, not Halten, and stays legal.

In plain English

TWO crossed strokes. Not even a moment to drop someone off. Hazard lights warn other people; they do not create a right to stop.

What you are looking at

Blue disc, thick red rim, two red diagonal strokes forming an X.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Eingeschränktes HaltverbotNo parking (limited stopping allowed)
• Grenzmarkierung für Halt- oder ParkverboteKerb marking for stopping / parking bans
• Zusatzzeichen „Seitenstreifen“Supplementary plate: verge / hard shoulder

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 290.1, StVO Anlage 2: inside the marked zone you may not stop for longer than three minutes.

In plain English

The single-stroke sign drawn inside a wide white board. It covers every street in the zone until Zeichen 290.2 — it does not stop at the next corner.

What you are looking at

Wide white rectangle with a thin black border; inside, the Zeichen 286 disc and the word ZONE.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Eingeschränktes HaltverbotNo parking (limited stopping allowed)
• Ende eines eingeschränkten Haltverbots für eine ZoneEnd of a no-parking zone
• Beginn einer ParkraumbewirtschaftungszonePaid-parking zone begins

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 290.2, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

The same board with everything greyed and struck through. Normal parking rules resume from here — including the §12 distances you still have to respect.

What you are looking at

Wide white rectangle, grey border; the Zeichen 286 disc in grey with grey strike-through, and ZONE.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn eines eingeschränkten Haltverbots für eine ZoneStart of a no-parking zone

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 299, StVO Anlage 2: within a Grenzmarkierung you may neither stop nor park.

In plain English

A zig-zag or bar painted on the kerb or road edge. It marks exactly where a ban starts and stops, so 'I didn't see a sign' does not work.

What you are looking at

A white zig-zag line painted along the edge of the carriageway.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Absolutes HaltverbotNo stopping
• SperrflächeHatched area

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 295, StVO Anlage 2: a driver may not cross the continuous line, 'not even partly'.

In plain English

The solid white line. 'Not even partly' is the StVO's own phrase — putting one wheel over it while squeezing past a cyclist is already the offence.

What you are looking at

A continuous white line painted along the road, sometimes doubled or paired with a dashed line.

Remember it like this

Where a solid line runs beside a dashed one, the line NEAREST you is the one that governs you.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• HaltlinieStop line
• Einseitige FahrstreifenbegrenzungOne-sided lane line (solid beside dashed)
• SperrflächeHatched area

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 296, StVO Anlage 2. A solid line paired with a dashed line: the rule is set by whichever line lies on your side.

In plain English

If the solid line is yours, you stay put. If the dashed line is yours, you may cross when it is safe. Same paint, two different drivers, two different answers.

What you are looking at

Two parallel white lines: one continuous, one dashed.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• FahrstreifenbegrenzungSolid lane line

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 298, StVO Anlage 2. A hatched area that vehicles may not use.

In plain English

The white triangle-hatched wedges that split a road before a turn lane. Not a parking bay, not a shortcut, not a place to wait.

What you are looking at

A white-outlined area filled with parallel diagonal white stripes.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Grenzmarkierung für Halt- oder ParkverboteKerb marking for stopping / parking bans
• FahrstreifenbegrenzungSolid lane line

Verbotszeichen (Prohibition) — you may not. usually a red circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 209-30, StVO Anlage 2. You must take the direction shown and no other.

In plain English

Blue circle = an order, not a permission. Get into the correct lane early — escaping later means crossing a solid line, which is a second offence.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a straight white arrow pointing up.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — rechtsTurn right (at the junction)
• Geradeaus oder rechtsStraight ahead or right
• EinbahnstraßeOne-way street

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 209-20, StVO Anlage 2. You must turn right at the junction ahead.

In plain English

The arrow BENDS, so you turn at the junction. A straight sideways arrow (Zeichen 211) means turn immediately, right here.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white arrow rising from the bottom and bending to the right.

Remember it like this

Bent arrow = at the junction. Straight horizontal arrow = here and now.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• KreisverkehrRoundabout
• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — geradeausStraight ahead only
• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — linksTurn left (at the junction)
• Hier rechtsTurn right here
• Geradeaus oder rechtsStraight ahead or right
• GrünpfeilGreen right-turn arrow

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 209-10, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

Mirror image of the right-turn order. Being ordered left does not exempt you from §9 Abs. 3 StVO — oncoming traffic still goes first.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white arrow rising from the bottom and bending to the left.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — rechtsTurn right (at the junction)
• Hier linksTurn left here

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 211-20, StVO Anlage 2. Turn right immediately at the sign, not at a junction further on.

In plain English

A flat horizontal arrow. Usually stands at a traffic island or a closed road where you must peel off right now.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a straight white arrow pointing horizontally right.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — rechtsTurn right (at the junction)
• Hier linksTurn left here
• Rechts vorbeiPass on the right

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 211-10, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

Same idea, other way. Flat arrow = immediately.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a straight white arrow pointing horizontally left.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — linksTurn left (at the junction)
• Hier rechtsTurn right here

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 214, StVO Anlage 2. Two directions are permitted; every other direction is forbidden.

In plain English

Two arrows, two choices — and left is still banned. Combination signs exist for every pair.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with two white arrows: one pointing up, one bending right.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — geradeausStraight ahead only
• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — rechtsTurn right (at the junction)

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 222, StVO Anlage 2. You must pass the obstacle on the side the arrow shows.

In plain English

Sits on a traffic island or a works barrier and names the only legal side. At night the island itself is much harder to see than the sign.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a straight white arrow pointing diagonally DOWN and to the RIGHT (Zeichen 222-20; the mirrored 222-10 points down-left for 'links vorbei').

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Hier rechtsTurn right here
• LeitbakeGuide beacon (roadworks)

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 223.1, StVO Anlage 2. The hard shoulder is temporarily released as a traffic lane; Zeichen 223.2 ends it and 223.3 orders you to clear it.

In plain English

A gantry sign on busy Autobahn stretches. It exists because the hard shoulder is otherwise strictly not a lane — and the moment 223.3 shows, you must be off it.

What you are looking at

Blue square showing white lane arrows with the rightmost (shoulder) lane marked open by a downward arrow.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• AutobahnMotorway
• Nothalte- und PannenbuchtEmergency lay-by

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 237, StVO Anlage 2: cyclists may not use the carriageway and must use this path (Radwegbenutzungspflicht). Motor vehicles must stay off it entirely.

In plain English

A blue circle with a bike is compulsory for cyclists and closed to you. Parking on one 'just for a second' is among the most reliably fined and towed offences in German cities.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white bicycle in side view.

Remember it like this

Cyclists only have to use a path when one of the three blue signs (237, 240, 241) is there. Without them, they may legally ride on the road beside you.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• RadverkehrCyclists crossing or joining
• Verbot für RadverkehrNo cycling
• Gemeinsamer Geh- und RadwegShared foot and cycle path
• Getrennter Rad- und GehwegSeparated cycle and foot path
• ReitwegBridleway
• Beginn einer FahrradstraßeStart of a cycle street
• Zusatzzeichen „Radverkehr frei“Supplementary plate: cyclists permitted

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 239, StVO Anlage 2: anyone other than pedestrians may not use it. Cyclists must dismount and push unless a plate ('Radverkehr frei') releases them.

In plain English

Walking only. Half-parking on the pavement is an offence unless a sign or a marked bay expressly allows it.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white walking figure.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• FußgängerPedestrians
• Verbot für FußgängerNo pedestrians
• Gemeinsamer Geh- und RadwegShared foot and cycle path
• Beginn einer FußgängerzonePedestrian zone begins
• FußgängerüberwegZebra crossing (sign)
• Parken auf GehwegenParking on the footway
• Zusatzzeichen „Radverkehr frei“Supplementary plate: cyclists permitted

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 240, StVO Anlage 2. Pedestrians and cyclists share one surface; cyclists must adapt to walking speed where necessary.

In plain English

Both symbols stacked with NO dividing line. Everyone uses the whole width — which is why pedestrians step sideways without looking, quite legally.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white pedestrian above and a white bicycle below, no line between them.

Remember it like this

No line = share everything. A line = each side stays in its half.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• RadverkehrCyclists crossing or joining
• RadwegCompulsory cycle path
• GehwegFootpath
• Getrennter Rad- und GehwegSeparated cycle and foot path

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 241, StVO Anlage 2. Two separate lanes on one path; each group must keep to its own side, shown by the sign.

In plain English

Same two symbols with a vertical line between them. The side each symbol is drawn on is the side it belongs on in real life.

What you are looking at

Blue disc split by a vertical white line: bicycle on one half, pedestrian on the other.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• RadwegCompulsory cycle path
• Gemeinsamer Geh- und RadwegShared foot and cycle path

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 238, StVO Anlage 2. Reserved for horse riders.

In plain English

Blue circle with a horse and rider. Rare, and exactly the kind of sign a multiple-choice question likes to slip in beside the cycle path.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white horse and rider in silhouette.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ReiterHorse riders
• RadwegCompulsory cycle path

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 244.1, StVO Anlage 2: vehicles other than bicycles and e-scooters may not use a Fahrradstraße unless a Zusatzzeichen allows it (commonly 'Anlieger frei' or 'Kfz frei'). Since 2020 the sign itself sets a 30 km/h limit for ALL traffic on it, cyclists included, and admitted motor traffic must slow further rather than endanger or obstruct cyclists — who may ride two abreast.

In plain English

The street belongs to bicycles. Where cars are let in by a plate, they are guests: cyclists may ride two abreast and you may not force your way past.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white bicycle above the white word FAHRRADSTRASSE.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für RadverkehrNo cycling
• RadwegCompulsory cycle path
• Ende einer FahrradstraßeEnd of a cycle street
• Beginn eines verkehrsberuhigten BereichsTraffic-calmed area (living street) begins

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 244.2, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

Struck through in grey. Ordinary road rules resume immediately.

What you are looking at

The Zeichen 244.1 square with grey diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn einer FahrradstraßeStart of a cycle street

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 245, StVO Anlage 2: only scheduled-service buses and vehicles required to carry the school-bus marking may use it. Taxis and cyclists only where a Zusatzzeichen says so.

In plain English

Not a fast lane, not a right-turn lane, not a place to wait. Cameras and bus drivers both report it.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white bus seen from the front.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• HaltestelleBus / tram stop
• Zusatzzeichen „Kraftomnibusse“Supplementary plate: buses

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 275, StVO Anlage 2: you may not drive slower than the figure shown — unless road, traffic, visibility or weather conditions require it.

In plain English

A number in a BLUE circle is a floor, not a ceiling. If your vehicle or the conditions cannot manage it, you must not use that road at all.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a large white number (e.g. 30).

Remember it like this

Red rim = maximum. Blue fill = minimum. Same digits, opposite meaning — this is the classic trap pair.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zulässige HöchstgeschwindigkeitSpeed limit
• Ende der vorgeschriebenen MindestgeschwindigkeitEnd of minimum speed
• RichtgeschwindigkeitAdvisory speed (130 km/h)

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 279, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

The blue disc with a strike-through. The floor is removed — the ordinary limits still apply above you.

What you are looking at

Blue disc, white number, white or grey diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ende der zulässigen HöchstgeschwindigkeitEnd of speed limit
• Vorgeschriebene MindestgeschwindigkeitMinimum speed

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 268, StVO Anlage 2: you may use the road only with snow chains fitted. Remember the companion rule — §3 Abs. 4 StVO caps any vehicle running on snow chains at 50 km/h, even in the best conditions.

In plain English

Blue circle with a chained tyre. Winter tyres are not enough here — the sign says chains, and it means chains, on at least the driven axle.

What you are looking at

Blue disc with a white tyre wrapped in a white chain.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Schnee- oder EisglätteSnow or ice

Vorschriftzeichen (Mandatory) — you must. usually a blue circle. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 310, StVO Anlage 3. Marks the start of a geschlossene Ortschaft (built-up area), which under §3 Abs. 3 Nr. 1 StVO means 50 km/h for all motor vehicles.

In plain English

A plain yellow board with a place name — and it IS the speed limit. No number appears on it anywhere. Stop hunting for a '50' sign; it is not coming.

What you are looking at

Wide yellow rectangle with a thin black border and the place name in large black capitals.

Remember it like this

It also ends most stretch restrictions — a no-overtaking ban or a speed limit generally dies at the Ortstafel.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ortstafel (Rückseite)Town ends
• Beginn einer Tempo 30-Zone30 km/h zone begins
• Wegweiser zu innerörtlichen ZielenLocal direction sign

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 311, StVO Anlage 3. The built-up area ends. §3 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 StVO then gives 100 km/h for cars and other motor vehicles up to 3.5 t; 80 km/h for a car with a trailer, for buses, and for goods vehicles over 3.5 t up to 7.5 t; and 60 km/h for anything over 7.5 t and for lorries with a trailer.

In plain English

The same yellow board with a red diagonal through it. Everyone else speeds up to 100 — if you are towing, you stay at 80.

What you are looking at

The yellow Ortstafel with a red diagonal line struck through the place name; the next town's name often appears below.

Remember it like this

Outside town, keep a following distance of about half your speedometer reading in metres — 100 km/h, 50 m.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ortstafel (Vorderseite)Town begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 274.1, StVO Anlage 2 (a zone sign, met as an area sign): inside the zone you may not exceed the stated speed.

In plain English

A zone, not a stretch. 30 applies on every street inside it until the exit sign — through junctions, round corners, everywhere.

What you are looking at

Wide white rectangle with a thin black border; inside, a red-rimmed disc showing 30, and the word ZONE.

Remember it like this

Zones are normally unsigned inside — which is exactly why rechts vor links (§8 Abs. 1 StVO) applies at almost every junction in one.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zulässige HöchstgeschwindigkeitSpeed limit
• Ortstafel (Vorderseite)Town begins
• Ende einer Tempo 30-Zone30 km/h zone ends
• Beginn eines verkehrsberuhigten BereichsTraffic-calmed area (living street) begins
• Umweltzone (Beginn einer Verkehrsverbotszone)Low-emission zone begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 274.2, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

Greyed and struck through. You are back to the ordinary town default of 50 — not to 'as fast as feels right'.

What you are looking at

The zone board with the 30 disc and the word ZONE all in grey, with grey diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn einer Tempo 30-Zone30 km/h zone begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 325.1, StVO Anlage 3. Drive at Schrittgeschwindigkeit; pedestrians may use the whole width of the road and children may play there; park only in marked spaces; on leaving, give way to all traffic (§10 StVO).

In plain English

The house-car-children sign. The road belongs to people, and you are the guest — 30 km/h here is roughly five times too fast.

What you are looking at

Blue square: a house, a car, an adult and a child playing with a ball, all in white, on a white ground line.

Remember it like this

Schrittgeschwindigkeit has no number in the StVO. The higher courts cluster at roughly 4-7 km/h - the OLG Karlsruhe treats 7 as the ceiling, the OLG Naumburg has stretched to 10. Drive at the low end and the argument never happens.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• KinderChildren
• Beginn einer FahrradstraßeStart of a cycle street
• Beginn einer Tempo 30-Zone30 km/h zone begins
• Ende eines verkehrsberuhigten BereichsTraffic-calmed area ends
• Beginn einer FußgängerzonePedestrian zone begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 325.2, StVO Anlage 3. On leaving, §10 StVO applies: you must give way to all other traffic, exactly like emerging from a driveway.

In plain English

Struck through. And the exit itself is the exam question: you come out of a living street with no rights at all.

What you are looking at

The Zeichen 325.1 picture with grey diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn eines verkehrsberuhigten BereichsTraffic-calmed area (living street) begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 242.1, StVO Anlage 2: anyone other than pedestrians may not use the zone, unless a Zusatzzeichen admits them (delivery hours, cyclists, residents).

In plain English

Pedestrians only — a stricter thing than a living street, where cars are at least allowed. Read the plate: many zones open to deliveries early in the morning.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white adult and child walking.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Fahrzeuge aller ArtNo vehicles of any kind
• GehwegFootpath
• Beginn eines verkehrsberuhigten BereichsTraffic-calmed area (living street) begins
• Ende einer FußgängerzonePedestrian zone ends

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 242.2, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

Struck through in grey. Note that you still leave under §10 StVO — everyone else has priority over you.

What you are looking at

The Zeichen 242.1 picture with grey diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn einer FußgängerzonePedestrian zone begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 220, StVO Anlage 2: you may drive the street only in the direction of the arrow. From the other end the same street shows Zeichen 267.

In plain English

A long white arrow in a blue rectangle. Everyone here goes your way — so you may park on BOTH sides, which is the practical thing to remember.

What you are looking at

Wide blue rectangle with a long white arrow pointing left or right across it.

Remember it like this

Watch for contra-flow cyclists — a very common plate in German cities lets them ride against you, legally.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot der EinfahrtNo entry
• Verbot des WendensNo U-turn
• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — geradeausStraight ahead only
• SackgasseDead end

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 357, StVO Anlage 3. No through route. The StVO notes that pictograms in the upper part of the sign may show that the dead end is still passable for cyclists and/or pedestrians.

In plain English

The white upright is the road you are on; the red bar across the top is where it stops. Look at the top of the symbol: a gap with a bicycle or a walker means it goes through for them, not for you.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white border. A large T: the vertical bar is white, the horizontal bar across the top is red. Variants show a bicycle or pedestrian symbol in a gap in the red bar.

Remember it like this

There is often nowhere to turn round at the end. Reversing out past parked cars is how people meet their neighbours.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• EinbahnstraßeOne-way street

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 330.1, StVO Anlage 3. From here §18 StVO applies: only motor vehicles with a design speed above 60 km/h, no reversing, no U-turns, and no stopping — expressly including the hard shoulder.

In plain English

A blue rectangle that looks like information and silently switches on a rulebook. The bans matter more than the permissions: no pedestrians, no cyclists, no stopping, ever.

What you are looking at

Blue rectangle with a white symbol of a divided carriageway: two lanes rising to a bridge, drawn as a stylised road with a central divider.

Remember it like this

Use the acceleration lane to reach the speed of the traffic, then merge. Braking at the end of the slip road is what causes the pile-up behind you.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• StauTraffic queue likely
• Seitenstreifen befahrenHard shoulder open as a running lane
• Ende der AutobahnEnd of motorway
• KraftfahrstraßeExpressway (motor vehicles only)
• Ankündigungsbake (Autobahnausfahrt)Motorway exit countdown marker

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 330.2, StVO Anlage 3. The §18 regime ends; ordinary road rules and the ordinary default limits return.

In plain English

Struck through. Expect oncoming traffic, junctions, pedestrians and cyclists again — all things that did not exist a hundred metres ago.

What you are looking at

The Zeichen 330.1 symbol with grey or black diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GegenverkehrTwo-way traffic ahead
• AutobahnMotorway
• Ende der KraftfahrstraßeEnd of expressway

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 331.1, StVO Anlage 3. The same §18 access rules as an Autobahn — design speed above 60 km/h, no pedestrians or cyclists — but it may be a single carriageway with oncoming traffic.

In plain English

The white car on a blue rectangle. It looks like a motorway rule set on a road that is often not a motorway layout. Treat oncoming traffic as a real possibility.

What you are looking at

Blue rectangle with a white car seen from the front.

Remember it like this

The 130 km/h Richtgeschwindigkeit only applies where the two directions are structurally separated. On an undivided Kraftfahrstraße it does not.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für KraftwagenNo cars (and other multi-track motor vehicles)
• AutobahnMotorway
• Ende der KraftfahrstraßeEnd of expressway

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 331.2, StVO Anlage 3.

In plain English

Struck through. Bicycles, tractors and pedestrians are legal again from here.

What you are looking at

The white car symbol on blue with diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ende der AutobahnEnd of motorway
• KraftfahrstraßeExpressway (motor vehicles only)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

WITHDRAWN SIGN — learn the rule, not the board. Zeichen 380 was deleted from the StVO on 1 April 2013 and the last ones had to come down by 31 October 2022, so it is no longer a valid German traffic sign and will not appear in the exam as current signage. The rule it used to display survives on its own: the Autobahn-Richtgeschwindigkeits-Verordnung sets 130 km/h as the recommended speed on Autobahnen and similar dual carriageways. It is advisory, not a limit — but exceeding it can cut your compensation after a crash, because a court can find a share of liability (Betriebsgefahr) against you.

In plain English

Historic board, gone from German roads since 2022. The 130 km/h recommendation itself is alive: no fine for exceeding it, and still possibly a bill, because civil courts treat it as a benchmark for Betriebsgefahr.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white number 130.

Remember it like this

Red rim = must not exceed. Blue circle = must not go below. Blue SQUARE = advice.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zulässige HöchstgeschwindigkeitSpeed limit
• Vorgeschriebene MindestgeschwindigkeitMinimum speed
• Ende der RichtgeschwindigkeitEnd of advisory speed

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

WITHDRAWN SIGN. Zeichen 381 ended the Zeichen 380 recommendation; both were deleted from the StVO on 1 April 2013, with removal from the roads completed by 31 October 2022. Kept here only so you recognise it in old teaching material.

In plain English

Struck through. Usually because a real, enforceable limit is about to begin.

What you are looking at

Blue square, white 130, with diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• RichtgeschwindigkeitAdvisory speed (130 km/h)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 350, StVO Anlage 3, backed by §26 StVO: you must enable pedestrians and wheelchair or Krankenfahrstuhl users who visibly want to cross to do so, approaching only at moderate speed and waiting if necessary. §26 Abs. 3 forbids overtaking at the crossing.

In plain English

The blue square commands; the red triangle (Zeichen 133) only warns. Clearly WANTING to cross is already enough — you do not wait for someone to step into the road first.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white walking figure crossing white zebra stripes.

Remember it like this

A cyclist riding across a zebra has no §26 right — only a cyclist who dismounts and walks does. Let them through anyway.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• FußgängerPedestrians
• GehwegFootpath
• Fußgängerüberweg (Markierung)Zebra crossing (road marking)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 293, StVO Anlage 2. The white stripes themselves. The StVO adds a parking rule to them: you may not stop on a Fußgängerüberweg or within 5 m before it.

In plain English

Stop BEFORE the stripes, never on them. And the 5 m rule exists for one reason: a parked car hides the child stepping out.

What you are looking at

Broad white bars painted across the carriageway, parallel to the direction of travel.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• HaltlinieStop line
• FußgängerüberwegZebra crossing (sign)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 314, StVO Anlage 3. Parking is permitted here. Any Zusatzzeichen underneath sets the real conditions — hours, disc, permit, vehicle type.

In plain English

A white P on blue. The sign says yes; the plate under it says who, when and for how long. Read the plate before you walk away.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a large white letter P.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Eingeschränktes HaltverbotNo parking (limited stopping allowed)
• Parken auf GehwegenParking on the footway
• Beginn einer ParkraumbewirtschaftungszonePaid-parking zone begins
• HaltestelleBus / tram stop
• Zusatzzeichen „Parkscheibe“Supplementary plate: parking disc required
• Zusatzzeichen „Schwerbehinderte mit außergewöhnlicher Gehbehinderung“Supplementary plate: disabled parking

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 315, StVO Anlage 3. Expressly permits parking half or fully on the pavement, in exactly the position drawn on the sign. The limit is mass, not size: vehicles over 2.8 t permissible total mass may not park on a footway at all.

In plain English

The only thing that makes pavement parking legal. The little car drawn on the kerb shows exactly how far up you go — copy the picture.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white P and a small white car shown straddling a kerb.

Remember it like this

Without this sign or a marked bay, two wheels on the pavement is an offence — however normal it looks on your street.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GehwegFootpath
• ParkenParking

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 314.1, StVO Anlage 3. Inside the whole zone, parking requires a ticket, a permit or a disc as stated on the sign.

In plain English

It covers the area, not one street — so there is no machine on every corner and 'there was no machine' is not a defence. Zeichen 314.2 ends it.

What you are looking at

Wide white board with the blue P square inside it and the word ZONE, plus the conditions in text.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn eines eingeschränkten Haltverbots für eine ZoneStart of a no-parking zone
• ParkenParking
• Zusatzzeichen „Bewohner mit Parkausweis Nr. …“Supplementary plate: residents with permit only

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 270.1, StVO Anlage 2: driving a motor vehicle inside the marked zone is forbidden, except for vehicles carrying the sticker shown on the sign (35. BImSchV). Every German Umweltzone currently requires the green sticker, Schadstoffgruppe 4.

In plain English

Most of inner Berlin inside the S-Bahn ring is one. The green Plakette goes on the inside of the windscreen, costs about 5–15 €, and applies to rental and borrowed cars exactly the same.

What you are looking at

White board with a red-rimmed circle containing the word UMWELT above ZONE, and a green sticker symbol shown beneath.

Remember it like this

Visitors are not exempt. Driving in without a valid sticker is a 100 € fine at our last check (Bußgeldkatalog, 2026).

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für KraftfahrzeugeNo motor vehicles
• Beginn einer Tempo 30-Zone30 km/h zone begins
• Ende einer VerkehrsverbotszoneLow-emission zone ends

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 270.2, StVO Anlage 2.

In plain English

Struck through in grey. You are out — but you will need the sticker again the moment you drive back in.

What you are looking at

The Umweltzone board rendered in grey with grey diagonal strike-through bars.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Umweltzone (Beginn einer Verkehrsverbotszone)Low-emission zone begins

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 224, StVO Anlage 2: you may not park within 15 m before or after the sign. §20 StVO adds the rule that matters most: where a bus with hazard lights on is approaching or standing at a stop, you may only pass at walking pace, and you may not overtake it at all as it approaches.

In plain English

A green H in a white square. The 15 m either side is why your obvious space is not a space — and the hazard-lights rule is the one that gets people fined and, occasionally, kills a child.

What you are looking at

White square with a green ring containing a green letter H.

Remember it like this

Bus hazard lights at a stop = Schrittgeschwindigkeit, and passengers may step out from in front of it without looking.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• BussonderfahrstreifenBus lane
• ParkenParking
• Zusatzzeichen „Kraftomnibusse“Supplementary plate: buses

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 327, StVO Anlage 3. The sign's own Erläuterung is the rule: you must use dipped headlights while driving through the tunnel, and you may not turn round inside it.

In plain English

Lights on, sunglasses off, radio to the traffic channel — regardless of how bright it looks inside. If traffic stops, switch off the engine, and note the marked distances to the emergency exits.

What you are looking at

Blue square with a white tunnel-portal arch over a white road.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Nothalte- und PannenbuchtEmergency lay-by

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 328, StVO Anlage 3. A bay for emergencies and breakdowns only.

In plain English

Not a rest stop, not a place to check the map. On an Autobahn it is the only legal place to stop other than a marked Rastplatz.

What you are looking at

Blue square showing a white lay-by widening off a white carriageway, with an SOS phone symbol.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Seitenstreifen befahrenHard shoulder open as a running lane
• TunnelTunnel

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 450, StVO Anlage 3. Blue boards with three, two and one stripe standing 300 m, 200 m and 100 m before an Autobahnknotenpunkt — an exit, an Autobahnkreuz or an Autobahndreieck — and also before a serviced Rastanlage. The 300 m board may carry the junction number.

In plain English

Blue stripes = motorway exit at 300/200/100 m. Red stripes = railway crossing at 240/160/80 m. Two countdowns, two colours, two very different consequences.

What you are looking at

Blue rectangle with three (then two, then one) thick white diagonal stripes.

Remember it like this

Blue = Bahn frei (carry on to the exit). Red = Bahn (train). If you remember only one thing about Baken, remember the colour.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Dreistreifige BakeThree-stripe countdown marker (240 m)
• Zweistreifige BakeTwo-stripe countdown marker (160 m)
• Einstreifige BakeOne-stripe countdown marker (80 m)
• AutobahnMotorway
• AusfahrttafelMotorway exit board

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 332, StVO Anlage 3 — §18 Abs. 10 StVO names it expressly: you may leave an Autobahn only where the Ausfahrttafel (Zeichen 332) and/or the arrow sign (Zeichen 333) mark the exit. Do not confuse it with Zeichen 448, the earlier Ankündigungstafel that first announces the exit or interchange.

In plain English

The word AUSFAHRT is not a place name. Every exit in Germany says it, which is the oldest joke about German motorways and still the most common navigation error.

What you are looking at

Large blue board with white text, the word Ausfahrt and destination names, plus a white exit arrow.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ankündigungsbake (Autobahnausfahrt)Motorway exit countdown marker
• Wegweiser zu innerörtlichen ZielenLocal direction sign

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 432, StVO Anlage 3, officially 'Pfeilwegweiser zu Zielen mit erheblicher Verkehrsbedeutung'. In practice this is the white-with-black-lettering arrow board you meet in towns, pointing to local destinations — station, hospital, centre. White = local; yellow = other places outside town; blue = Autobahn.

In plain English

White background = local. Yellow = Bundesstraße and country routes. Blue = Autobahn. The colour tells you what kind of road you are being sent onto before you read a word.

What you are looking at

White rectangular arrow-shaped board with black destination text.

Remember it like this

In Germany green on a signpost points at another Autobahn — it is not the 'main road' colour it is in southern Europe or South Asia.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Ortstafel (Vorderseite)Town begins
• AusfahrttafelMotorway exit board
• UmleitungDiversion

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

The Umleitung family in StVO Anlage 3: Zeichen 454 (Umleitungswegweiser), 455.1 (Fortsetzung der Umleitung), 455.2 (Ende der Umleitung), 457.1 (Umleitungsankündigung) and 460 (Bedarfsumleitung). Marks a signed diversion around a closure.

In plain English

Yellow arrows on a route you did not choose. Follow the yellow signs and only the yellow signs — satnav will keep trying to send you back into the closure.

What you are looking at

Yellow rectangular board with a black arrow and the word Umleitung.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks
• Wegweiser zu innerörtlichen ZielenLocal direction sign

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 720, mounted to the right of the red light. It is not in an Anlage — §37 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 StVO defines it directly: you must first come to a complete standstill, then you may turn right on red, and only if you endanger or obstruct nobody, cross traffic and pedestrians on green included.

In plain English

A separate black plate beside the light, not part of it. It does not make the light green; it permits one specific movement, after a full standstill, and only if you endanger nobody.

What you are looking at

Black square plate with a green arrow pointing right.

Remember it like this

Rolling through without stopping is exactly what enforcement watches for at Grünpfeil junctions — and pedestrians crossing your exit road have green at the same moment.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Halt. Vorfahrt gewähren.Stop and give way
• LichtzeichenanlageTraffic signals ahead
• Vorgeschriebene Fahrtrichtung — rechtsTurn right (at the junction)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 605, StVO Anlage 4 (Verkehrseinrichtungen). Red and white striped boards guiding traffic past a works site.

In plain English

The stripes SLOPE DOWN towards the side you should pass on. That is the whole trick — read the slope, not the sign.

What you are looking at

Rectangular board with diagonal red and white stripes; the slope direction indicates the side to pass.

Remember it like this

Stripes point down to the free lane, like an arrow lying on its side.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ArbeitsstelleRoadworks
• Rechts vorbeiPass on the right
• AbsperrschrankeBarrier board
• LeitpfostenRoadside guide post

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 600, StVO Anlage 4. A red-and-white barrier closing a road or a lane.

In plain English

A full closure, not a suggestion. Squeezing round one at a roadworks is a fine and, if something goes wrong beyond it, your liability.

What you are looking at

Horizontal board with alternating red and white diagonal stripes, mounted on legs across the road.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• LeitbakeGuide beacon (roadworks)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zeichen 620, StVO Anlage 4. The StVO's own wording: guide posts mark the course of the road, standing 'in der Regel im Abstand von 50 m' and closer together in bends.

In plain English

Free distance measuring. Two posts = 100 m, one post = 50 m — which is exactly the following distance you want at 100 km/h.

What you are looking at

Slim white post with a black top band and a reflector — rectangular red reflector on the right-hand side of the road, round white on the left.

Remember it like this

Use them to check your gap: if the car in front passes a post and you reach it before you have counted two seconds, you are too close.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• LeitbakeGuide beacon (roadworks)

Hinweiszeichen (Information) — where you are. usually a blue or green panel. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen 1053-35. Limits the sign above to wet conditions — the road must actually be covered with a film of water, not merely damp.

In plain English

A speed limit with this plate simply does not apply on a dry road. It is the plate that most often catches people out in both directions: ignored in rain, obeyed pointlessly in sunshine.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a thin black border and the words 'bei Nässe' in black.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Schleuder- oder RutschgefahrSlippery road
• Zusatzzeichen mit ZeitangabeSupplementary plate: time window

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen 1020-30. Frees residents, their visitors, deliveries to them and anyone with legitimate business at a property in the street from the ban above.

In plain English

'Anlieger' is broader than 'residents' — a visitor, a delivery driver or a tradesman counts. Using the street purely as a short cut does not.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle, black border, the words 'Anlieger frei' in black.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „Radverkehr frei“Supplementary plate: cyclists permitted
• Zusatzzeichen „Pkw frei“Supplementary plate: cars permitted
• Zusatzzeichen „Lieferverkehr frei“Supplementary plate: deliveries permitted

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen 1022-10. Admits cyclists to a path or street otherwise closed to them — on a Gehweg they must ride at walking pace and give way to pedestrians.

In plain English

This is the plate that creates contra-flow cyclists in one-way streets, and the reason you check over your right shoulder before turning into what looks like an empty pavement.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a black bicycle symbol and the word 'frei'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• RadwegCompulsory cycle path
• GehwegFootpath
• Zusatzzeichen „Anlieger frei“Supplementary plate: residents and their visitors exempt

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen 1024-10. Admits passenger cars to a road otherwise closed to motor traffic.

In plain English

The plate that turns a ban into a filter. Read what the symbol actually shows — 'Pkw' is a car, and a van over 3.5 t is not one.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a black car symbol and the word 'frei'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „Anlieger frei“Supplementary plate: residents and their visitors exempt
• Zusatzzeichen „Lieferverkehr frei“Supplementary plate: deliveries permitted

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1026 family (e.g. 1026-35). Admits delivery traffic to a road otherwise closed.

In plain English

Standard on pedestrian zones with a morning delivery window. Combined with a time plate, both conditions have to be met at once.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with the words 'Lieferverkehr frei'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „Anlieger frei“Supplementary plate: residents and their visitors exempt
• Zusatzzeichen „Pkw frei“Supplementary plate: cars permitted
• Zusatzzeichen „Einsatzfahrzeuge frei“Supplementary plate: emergency vehicles permitted

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen 1026-33. Admits emergency services to an otherwise closed road.

In plain English

Never applies to you. Worth knowing because it is a standard wrong answer in multiple-choice questions about who may pass a ban.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with the words 'Einsatzfahrzeuge frei'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „Lieferverkehr frei“Supplementary plate: deliveries permitted

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1002 family. Fitted under Zeichen 306 or 205, it draws the junction and shows where the priority road actually runs.

In plain English

A little map of the junction. The THICK line is the priority road; thin lines are ordinary side roads. It shows where the priority goes, not where you should go.

What you are looking at

White rectangle with a black junction diagram: one thick line bending through the junction, thin lines crossing it.

Remember it like this

If your route leaves the thick line, you lose priority — and you must indicate, even when it feels like going straight on. This is one of the most-failed sign questions in the whole theory exam.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• VorfahrtstraßePriority road
• Vorfahrt gewährenGive way / yield
• Zusatzzeichen mit RichtungspfeilSupplementary plate: direction arrow

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1000 family (1000-10 left, 1000-20 right, 1000-30/-31 both directions). Restricts the sign above to the direction shown.

In plain English

An arrow under a no-parking sign means the ban runs that way from the post. Two-headed arrows mean it runs both ways from where you stand.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a single black arrow pointing left, right, or both ways.

Remember it like this

Under a Haltverbot: arrow up = the ban starts here; arrow down/both = you are in the middle of it; arrow pointing back = it ends here.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „Verlauf der Vorfahrtstraße“Supplementary plate: course of the priority road
• Zusatzzeichen „auf … m“Supplementary plate: for the next … metres

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1001 family (e.g. 1001-30). States how long the restriction above lasts.

In plain English

'auf 800 m' means the rule runs for the next 800 metres and then simply stops — no cancellation sign will appear.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with black text such as 'auf 800 m'.

Remember it like this

'auf' = for the next X metres (it starts now). 'in' = in X metres (it starts later).

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen mit RichtungspfeilSupplementary plate: direction arrow
• Zusatzzeichen „in … m“Supplementary plate: in … metres

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1004 family (e.g. 1004-30). States how far ahead the situation lies.

In plain English

'in 200 m' means nothing changes yet. Drivers who brake immediately for a limit that starts 200 m later cause their own rear-end collisions.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with black text such as 'in 200 m'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „auf … m“Supplementary plate: for the next … metres

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1040/1042 families. Limits the sign above to stated hours or days.

In plain English

Black figures = Monday to Saturday. Figures in brackets = Saturdays. Red figures = Sundays and public holidays. That colour code is worth memorising once and never re-learning.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with times such as '8–18 h', sometimes with '(8–13 h)' in brackets below, or the word 'werktags'.

Remember it like this

Brackets mean Saturday. Red means Sunday. Plain black means the working week.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Zusatzzeichen „bei Nässe“Supplementary plate: when wet
• Zusatzzeichen „Parkscheibe“Supplementary plate: parking disc required
• Zusatzzeichen „Schule“Supplementary plate: school

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1040 family. Free parking for the stated period, but only with a Parkscheibe (blue cardboard disc) displayed.

In plain English

Set the disc to the next half hour AFTER you arrive — 10:12 becomes 10:30. Rounding down is the mistake that gets ticketed.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a blue parking-disc symbol and a duration such as '2 Std.'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ParkenParking
• Zusatzzeichen mit ZeitangabeSupplementary plate: time window

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1044 family (e.g. 1044-10). Reserves the space for holders of the EU blue disabled parking card.

In plain English

The blue wheelchair plate. Parking here without the card is one of the few offences that reliably gets you towed rather than ticketed.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a blue wheelchair symbol.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• ParkenParking
• Zusatzzeichen „Bewohner mit Parkausweis Nr. …“Supplementary plate: residents with permit only

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1044 family. Restricts the space to residents holding the numbered local permit.

In plain English

Common across inner Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. The permit is tied to your Anmeldung address — you apply for it at the Bürgeramt, not at the parking machine.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with text such as 'Bewohner mit Parkausweis Nr. 12'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Beginn einer ParkraumbewirtschaftungszonePaid-parking zone begins
• Zusatzzeichen „Schwerbehinderte mit außergewöhnlicher Gehbehinderung“Supplementary plate: disabled parking

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1048/1053 families. Restricts the sign above to lorries, or to vehicles over a stated mass.

In plain English

The plate that decides whether a ban is yours at all. A no-overtaking sign with a lorry plate is somebody else's problem.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a black lorry symbol, sometimes with a mass figure such as '7,5 t'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Verbot für Kraftfahrzeuge über 3,5 tNo goods vehicles over 3.5 t
• Zusatzzeichen „Kraftomnibusse“Supplementary plate: buses

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1049 family (e.g. 1049-13). Restricts the sign above to buses.

In plain English

Usually seen over coach bays near stations and stadiums. If you are in a car, it means the space is not for you.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a black bus symbol.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• BussonderfahrstreifenBus lane
• HaltestelleBus / tram stop
• Zusatzzeichen „Lkw“ / MassenangabeSupplementary plate: goods vehicles / mass

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1006/1007 families. Fitted under Zeichen 101, it names the danger in words — 'Ölspur', 'Rauch', 'Steinschlag', 'Waldbrandgefahr'.

In plain English

This is what makes the plain exclamation-mark triangle useful. If you skip the plate, the sign has told you nothing.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with a short black word or phrase naming the hazard.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• GefahrstelleGeneral danger

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

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What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1012 family. Fitted under Zeichen 136, it names the reason children are expected here.

In plain English

Sometimes paired with a time plate covering the school run. §3 Abs. 2a StVO applies regardless of the hour — children do not read timetables.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with the black word 'Schule'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• KinderChildren
• Zusatzzeichen mit ZeitangabeSupplementary plate: time window

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page

What it legally means

Zusatzzeichen from the 1053 family. Extends a stopping or parking ban above to the verge beside the carriageway.

In plain English

Without this plate, a Haltverbot applies to the carriageway. With it, pulling onto the grass does not save you either.

What you are looking at

Small white rectangle with the black word 'Seitenstreifen'.

Easy to confuse with — the exam exploits these

• Eingeschränktes HaltverbotNo parking (limited stopping allowed)
• Absolutes HaltverbotNo stopping

Zusatzzeichen (Supplementary) — white plate under a sign — changes its meaning. Checked against StVO Anlage 1–3 on 2026-08-03.

Drill sign questions Open the full page