In short: At "Overtaking on a country road" the examiner mainly wants to see: Keep enough distance behind the lorry to see the road ahead; Check the view: no oncoming traffic, enough road before the crest; No overtaking ban: broken line, no sign; Interior mirror, side mirror, indicate left, shoulder check. A severe mistake that can end the test: briefly accelerate to 120 km/h to get it done faster.
Country road, 100 km/h limit, a long straight stretch. A lorry is driving at 60 km/h ahead of you. The centre line is broken. Far ahead, after the straight, there is a crest.
The examiner says„Wenn es sicher geht, überholen Sie bitte den LKW.“
"If it is safe, please overtake the lorry."
What you have to show
- Keep enough distance behind the lorry to see the road ahead
- Check the view: no oncoming traffic, enough road before the crest
- No overtaking ban: broken line, no sign
- Interior mirror, side mirror, indicate left, shoulder check
- Briskly with clearly higher speed, but at most 100 km/h
- Enough side distance to the lorry
- Indicate right and move back in only when the whole lorry is in the interior mirror
The right order
- Check the view: oncoming traffic, crest, line, signs
- Interior mirror, side mirror, indicate left, shoulder check
- Pull out and accelerate briskly, at most 100 km/h
- Pass with enough side distance
- Whole lorry in the interior mirror: indicate right, move back in
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:
- Check the view: no oncoming traffic, enough road before the crest severe mistake
- No overtaking ban: broken line, no sign
- Interior mirror, side mirror, indicate left, shoulder check severe mistake
- Keep enough distance behind the lorry to see the road ahead
- Enough side distance to the lorry
- Indicate right and move back in only when the whole lorry is in the interior mirror
- Briskly with clearly higher speed, but at most 100 km/h
How the examiner grades: the electronic test protocol explained →
A strong answer
First I keep enough distance behind the lorry so that I can see the road ahead. Then I check the view: there is no oncoming traffic, and the straight stretch is long enough, with the crest still far away. The centre line is broken and there is no overtaking ban, so overtaking is allowed. I check the interior mirror and the side mirror, indicate left and do a shoulder check. Then I pull out and accelerate briskly, but to at most 100 km/h, and pass the lorry with enough side distance. When I can see the whole lorry in the interior mirror, I indicate right and move back in, without cutting in.
What the law says
§ 5 StVO: overtake only when it is clear that oncoming traffic will not be hindered during the whole manoeuvre, and at a clearly higher speed. Overtaking is prohibited in unclear situations, at crests, in blind bends and with sign 276 or a solid line (sign 295, one-sided sign 296). § 3 (3) StVO: outside town at most 100 km/h for cars.
Legal text: § 5 StVO · § 3 StVO · Anlage 2 StVO (Verkehrszeichen) (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Quick check
A car ahead of you is doing 90 km/h. May you overtake it on the country road?
- Yes, at 120 km/h it is quick
- No, at most 100 km/h the necessary speed difference is missing
- Yes, if I honk
Show the answer
Tap the steps in the right order or explain in your own words what you would do. The app checks your answer instantly, free and without registration.
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