Theory topic 6 · Düsseldorf
Topic 6: Traffic signs & markings
Road signs are how the road talks to you. In Topic 6 you learn the three main groups: warning signs (triangles), regulatory signs (circles) and information signs (rectangles). On top of that come traffic guidance devices such as marker boards, traffic cones and road markings. The better you can read them, the safer you'll drive.
- In class
- 90 minutes, as often as you like
- This is topic 6 of 14. You can come to this double lesson as many times as you like.
- Flexible times
- 8 theory classes a week
- Lessons run on six days a week. The 14 topics follow on from each other in a loop, so you simply join at the next lesson.
- Four languages
- German, English, Arabic, Berber
- Lessons are taught in German. If something isn't clear, you can ask in English, Arabic or Berber.
What you learn
What topic 6 covers
This is what's on the plan in the lesson, and it's what the theory test (Theorieprüfung) will ask you about.
- How to tell the three main groups of signs apart by their shape and colour
- The most important warning signs and what they mean, for example bends, junctions or deer crossing
- How to tell regulatory signs that forbid something (red) from ones that tell you what to do (blue)
- How to read information signs, such as priority road, motorway and town name signs
- How to understand the extra plates under a sign, for example where it applies or on which days
- How to recognise traffic guidance devices such as marker boards, roadside posts and barriers
- How to read road markings: lines along the road, lines across it and special markings
The key rules
What you need to know for sure
A lot of the test questions on this topic come back to these points.
The shape tells you what a sign means
A triangle with a red border, point upwards, warns you about a hazard. A circle with a red border usually means something is not allowed, and a blue circle tells you what you must do. Rectangular or square signs are mostly information signs. Two regulatory signs have a shape of their own: the upside-down triangle for give way (205) and the red octagon for stop (206).
Warning signs give you time to react
In towns, warning signs generally stand just before the hazard. Outside towns they're usually 150 to 250 metres before it. If the distance is much shorter, an extra plate may tell you. A warning sign asks you to pay more attention, and above all to slow down in good time and be ready to brake.
Extra plates change what a sign covers
An extra plate under a sign that bans or requires something can narrow it down or widen it. One example is 'Anlieger frei' (access for residents and visitors only) under a sign that closes the road to all vehicles.
Information signs can do more than inform
Information signs normally just tell you something, for example that you're on a priority road, a motorway or entering a town. But some of them also contain rules. On a priority road outside towns you may not park on the carriageway, and in a traffic-calmed area you have to drive at walking pace, so breaking those rules can be punished. The signs showing which way you must go (signs 209 to 214) and the signs for cycle and foot paths, on the other hand, are regulatory signs.
Traffic guidance devices show you the way
Red and white marker boards, traffic cones and barriers, together with the posts along the edge of the road, show you where to drive, especially at roadworks. You must not drive into an area that's closed off by marker boards, cones or barriers. These devices overrule the general traffic rules, and yellow roadworks markings cancel out the white ones.
Common mistakes
Where the test often trips people up
In these places a question often means something different from what it seems to say when you read it quickly.
- Reading the give way sign as a stop sign
- Give way (the upside-down triangle, 205) only makes you stop if you need to. Stop (the octagon, 206) always makes you stop.
- Missing the end of a speed limit
- A speed limit applies until a sign ends it. Sign 278 ends the speed limit shown on it, and sign 282 ends all speed limits and overtaking bans for that stretch of road. Without one of those signs, a limit only ends if an extra plate says how long the stretch is, or if it was put up together with a warning sign and it's clear where the hazard ends. So it doesn't automatically end at the next junction. Some drivers keep to the old limit for too long, and others speed up too soon.
- Ignoring extra plates
- Plates like 'Anlieger frei' (access only), 'Mo-Fr 7-19h' (Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm) or 'außer Linienbus' (except scheduled buses) completely change what the main sign means. That's why you should always read the whole sign.
- Not noticing where the priority road goes
- A priority road (sign 306) stays a priority road until the next sign 205 (give way), 206 (stop) or 307 (end of priority road). If it bends off at a junction, an extra plate shows its route. If you follow it, you have to signal in good time, and if you carry straight on, you leave the priority road.
Sample questions
What the questions in the theory test look like
Click on a question to see the answer. You can practise the full set of official questions with our learning app.
What shape is a regulatory sign that tells you something is not allowed?
You see a triangular sign with a red border and a deer on it. What does it mean?
In a town, how far does a speed limit normally apply?
In the driving lesson
Where you'll meet topic 6 again in the car
You'll pass a lot of signs in your driving lessons. In the city centre especially, you'll often find a sign telling you what to do, one telling you what not to do and an extra plate all on the same post, so it really helps if you can read those combinations confidently from your theory lessons.
Questions and answers
Common questions about topic 6
Short answers to questions around this topic.
What's the best way to learn all the road signs?
What does the blue sign with arrows pointing straight ahead and to the right mean?
What is a St Andrew's cross?
When can I stop where there's a no-stopping sign?
What does a speed limit sign with a line through it mean?
Registration
Come along to the theory lessons
Pre-register online, with no obligation. Once your registration has gone through, you join at the next lesson, whichever topic is on that day.
Or just drop by
- Phone
- 0211 21098911
- Mon–Fri
- 10:30–19:00
- Sat
- 10:00–15:00
- Sun
- Closed
Read on
Related topics and pages
- Topic 4: Roads & level crossingsHow roads, special lanes and level crossings are laid out.
- Topic 5: The basic rule, priority & traffic controlPriority to the right, priority signs, traffic lights and the police officer who overrules them all.
- Topic 7: The people you share the road withChildren, older people, cyclists and everyone else who needs extra care.
- Class BThe car licence.
- Class BF17Start at 17 and drive with a companion.
- Theory timetableWhich topic runs on which day.
