In short: At "30 km/h zone" the examiner mainly wants to see: At most 30 km/h until the end-of-zone sign; Right before left applies in the zone, look right at every junction; A ball means a child: ready to brake at once, reduce speed sharply; Slow and ready to brake between the parked cars. A severe mistake that can end the test: carry on at 50 km/h, the sign only applied to the first street.
You turn off a main road into a residential area. At the entrance is the sign "Zone 30". Cars are parked on both sides, and a ball rolls out from between the parked cars. There are no signs at the junctions.
The examiner says„Fahren Sie bitte durch das Wohngebiet, an der dritten Kreuzung rechts.“
"Please drive through the residential area and turn right at the third junction."
What you have to show
- At most 30 km/h until the end-of-zone sign
- Right before left applies in the zone, look right at every junction
- A ball means a child: ready to brake at once, reduce speed sharply
- Slow and ready to brake between the parked cars
- Expect the parked cars to block your view
- About 1 m from the parked cars, edge forward slowly at junctions
- Before turning right: mirrors, indicate, shoulder check
The right order
- See the Zone 30 sign: at most 30 km/h from here
- Ball: ready to brake at once, expect a child
- Drive slowly about 1 m from the parked cars, watch the gaps
- At every junction right before left: edge forward slowly, look right
- Before the third junction: mirrors, indicate right, keep right, shoulder check
- Turn right
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:
- Right before left applies in the zone, look right at every junction severe mistake
- A ball means a child: ready to brake at once, reduce speed sharply severe mistake
- Expect the parked cars to block your view
- About 1 m from the parked cars, edge forward slowly at junctions
- At most 30 km/h until the end-of-zone sign severe mistake
- Slow and ready to brake between the parked cars
- Before turning right: mirrors, indicate, shoulder check
How the examiner grades: the electronic test protocol explained →
A strong answer
The Zone 30 sign means at most 30 km/h applies in the whole area until the end-of-zone sign. The ball between the parked cars means a child may run after it, so I brake at once and continue slowly, ready to brake. The parked cars block my view, so I watch the gaps, keep about one metre from the parked cars and edge forward slowly at the junctions. There are no signs at the junctions, right before left applies, and I look right at every junction. Before the third junction I check the mirrors, indicate right, do a shoulder check and turn.
What the law says
Sign 274.1 (start of a 30 zone): maximum speed 30 km/h until sign 274.2. 30 zones normally have no priority signs (§ 45 (1c) StVO), so right before left applies (§ 8 (1) StVO). § 3 (2a) StVO: towards children, rule out danger by reducing speed and being ready to brake.
Legal text: § 45 StVO · § 8 StVO · § 3 StVO · Anlage 2 StVO (Verkehrszeichen) (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Quick check
In the 30 zone you reach a junction with a car coming from the left. There are no signs. Who goes first?
- The car from the left, in zones left before right applies
- You, because for the other car you come from the right
- Whoever reaches the junction first
Show the answer
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