Priority: who goes first

The heaviest topic of this stage: 274 questions in the bank. And almost every mistake comes not from unknown rules but from applying a correct rule where a different one governs.

The order of sources

Priority is set by three things, with a hierarchy between them:

  1. A traffic controller’s instruction — overrides everything, lights included.
  2. Traffic lights — override signs and markings.
  3. Signs and markings — [B01 priority road](/en/signs/B01),

[B06 give way](/en/signs/B06), shark’s teeth.

  1. Give way to the right — applies only when none of the above is present.

In that order, not “whatever you noticed first”. In full in the [priority signs](/en/tables/voorrangsborden) and [shark’s teeth](/en/tables/haaientanden) tables.

Try it yourself: [priority signs](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=priority-signs-intersections) — 48 questions.

Give way to the right: shorter than it looks

At an equal-priority junction, whoever comes from the right goes first. No exception by vehicle type: the cyclist on your right has the same priority as the lorry on your right. “It is only a bicycle” is the most common error here.

The rule applies only where there are no signs, no markings and no lights.

Try it yourself: [equal-priority junctions](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=uncontrolled-intersections) — 46 questions.

Turning is not priority, it is an obligation

Turning left, you let oncoming traffic going straight pass — that is not the right-hand rule but a rule of its own. Turning right, you cross the cycle path and let those on it go first.

A special case is the [driveway](/en/glossary/uitrit): leaving one, you let EVERYONE pass, pedestrians on the pavement included. That is a special manoeuvre, not a junction.

Try it yourself: [turning and oncoming](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=turning-oncoming) — 26 questions, [driveways](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=exits-driveways) — 34.

Roundabouts and emergency vehicles

On a roundabout, priority is set by the sign and the shark’s teeth on the spot, not by the folk belief that “the roundabout always wins”. An emergency vehicle with both flashing light AND siren always goes first, even where the sign gives priority to you.

Try it yourself: [roundabouts](/en/oefenen?onderwerp=roundabouts) — 32 questions.

What to remember

Before deciding who goes first, find the SOURCE of priority: controller, lights, sign, marking — and only if none of these exists, the right-hand rule. Half the mistakes are the right-hand rule applied where a sign stands.

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