Tema 27: junctions and right of way in the DGT exam

You look at the signage first. Only if there is none does priority-from-the-right apply, and even then with four listed exceptions.

Reviewed on 11 October 2026 · sources: BOE and DGT

The exam asks who goes first at a junction. You look at the signage first; only if there is none does priority-from-the-right apply.

At a signed junction the signage rules: police officer (agente) first, then the light, then the vertical sign or marking.
With no signage you give way (ceder el paso) to whoever approaches from your right, except in four cases: you come off an unpaved road and they are on a paved one, they run on rails, they are already on the roundabout, or already on a motorway (autopista) or dual carriageway (autovía).
Giving way does not require stopping. Only a Stop requires a complete halt.

Watch out: the list of exceptions is closed, four and not five. "Someone coming off a track" is not one of them.

In DrivingLingo: study the regulatory signs, review traffic lights and level crossings and moving bridges, then practise with the .

Source: RGC art. 56; RGC art. 57.1; RGC art. 58.1

Key rules of topic 27

The sign comes first

At a signed junction the signage rules: officer first, then the light, then the vertical sign or marking.

At a Give way or Stop you yield to the other road's traffic, whichever side it comes from.

Source: RGC art. 56

The right, and its four exceptions

With no signage you yield to whoever approaches from your right, except in four cases.

You yield if you come off an unpaved road and they are on a paved one; or if they run on rails.
You yield if they are already on the roundabout, or already on a motorway.

Source: RGC art. 57.1

How to yield

Yielding means not forcing the other driver to change course or speed abruptly.

You must show in advance, slowing gradually, that you are going to yield.

Source: RGC art. 58.1

Do not block the junction

Even with priority, you do not enter a junction or a crossing if you may end up stranded inside, blocking it.

The yellow box painted on the ground is there precisely to remind you.

Source: RGC art. 59

The roundabout

Entering a roundabout you yield to traffic already on the circulating carriageway.

Inside the roundabout you always keep the centre of the island on your left.
A roundabout is one of the few junctions where overtaking is allowed.

Source: RGC art. 57.1.c); RGC art. 43.2

Narrow stretches

Where two vehicles do not fit and there is no signage, whoever entered first has priority.

In case of doubt, priority goes to whoever has the greater manoeuvring difficulty, by an official list.
In that list a car yields to a lorry and a bus, and a motorbike yields to almost everyone.

Source: RGC arts. 60 y 62

The seven per cent

On a steep, narrow stretch, the vehicle travelling uphill has priority.

Unless the uphill driver can reach a passing place sooner: then they pull in.
A stretch counts as steep from a gradient of 7 %.

Source: RGC art. 63.1

Emergency vehicles

Police, fire, civil protection and ambulances on an urgent call have priority over every other road user.

On an urgent call they may exceed speed limits and set other rules aside, on their own responsibility.
They may never disobey the signals and orders of traffic officers.
On a motorway or dual carriageway in a jam, form the emergency lane: in the middle with two lanes, between the leftmost and its neighbour with three or more.

Source: RGC arts. 32, 67, 68 y 69

Changing lane inside

Inside a roundabout, changing lane means giving way to whoever is in the lane you are moving into.

So, to exit from the inner lane you cross the outer one and give way to whoever is in it.
You signal every lane change and the exit, and switch the indicator off as soon as you are on the new path.

Source: RGC art. 74.2; RGC art. 109.2.a)

Two lanes, same order

In a two-lane roundabout you give way to any vehicle already on the ring, whichever lane it is in.

A bus or a bicycle on the ring has the same priority as a car.
You go round the ring keeping the centre of the roundabout on your left.

Source: RGC art. 57.1.c); RGC art. 43.2

Choosing a lane on entry

In a roundabout with lane selection, the arrow on the approach lane shows which exits you can take from it.

If the arrow points to several exits, you may take any of them.
These arrows are only painted at roundabouts with lane selection, not at conventional ones.

Source: RGC anexo I, ap. 5 (Catálogo, RD 465/2025), marca M-5.7

Giving way on entry

Before entering the roundabout you check that you do not force anyone on the ring to brake or swerve sharply.

You show it in good time, by slowing down gradually.
With the ring clear you need not stop completely.
At the pedestrian crossing on the exit, you give way to the pedestrian even though you had priority on the ring.

Source: RGC art. 58.1; RGC art. 56.5; RGC art. 65.1.a)

Learn the rule, then practise it

Study topic 27 step by step: the rule, its citation and exam-style questions.

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