In short: At "Hand signals from a police officer" the examiner mainly wants to see: The officer's signals override lights, signs and right-of-way rules; Chest or back towards you means stop: halt; Stop before the junction, not inside it; Side towards you (arm in your direction) means go: drive. A severe mistake that can end the test: carry on, the signs give you priority.
Junction, the traffic lights have failed. A police officer is directing traffic in the middle of the junction. He is facing you with his chest and has both arms stretched out to the sides. The priority signs would normally give you priority.
The examiner says„An der Kreuzung bitte geradeaus.“
"Go straight on at the junction, please."
What you have to show
- The officer's signals override lights, signs and right-of-way rules
- Chest or back towards you means stop: halt
- Stop before the junction, not inside it
- Side towards you (arm in your direction) means go: drive
- One arm raised means attention: wait before the junction, clear it if inside
- On the signal, move off carefully, watching pedestrians and cross traffic
The right order
- Recognise: the officer is directing, his signals override lights and signs
- Chest towards you: stop before the junction
- Watch the officer and wait for his signal
- When he turns sideways (arm towards you): go
- Move off carefully, watching pedestrians and cross traffic
Typical mistakes
What the examiner records in the protocol
The examiner files every situation under five competence areas in the electronic test protocol. This is how the points of this situation are spread:
- The officer's signals override lights, signs and right-of-way rules severe mistake
- Side towards you (arm in your direction) means go: drive
- One arm raised means attention: wait before the junction, clear it if inside
- Stop before the junction, not inside it
- Chest or back towards you means stop: halt severe mistake
- On the signal, move off carefully, watching pedestrians and cross traffic
How the examiner grades: the electronic test protocol explained →
A strong answer
The officer is directing traffic, and his signals override the lights and the signs. He is facing me with his chest, which means stop like red, so I stop before the junction, not inside it. I watch him and wait. If he raises an arm, that means attention, like amber, and I keep waiting before the junction. When he turns sideways and the arm points in my direction, that means go. Then I move off carefully and watch for pedestrians and cross traffic.
What the law says
§ 36 StVO: signals and instructions of police officers must be obeyed; they take precedence over all other orders and rules. Arms stretched out sideways across your direction of travel mean stop for traffic from the front and behind; a raised arm means "attention, wait before the junction". The signals do not release you from your duty of care (§ 36 (1) sentence 2 StVO).
Legal text: § 36 StVO (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Quick check
The officer raises one arm straight up while you are already inside the junction. What do you do?
- Stop at once where I am
- Clear the junction promptly
- Reverse back to before the junction
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