Priority roadSwitzerland
22. Priority road
A priority road is a road whose traffic is given priority over traffic entering from intersecting roads. It is normally identified by a priority-road sign, while an end sign indicates where that continuing priority status stops.
Drivers on a priority road must still obey traffic lights, authorised officers, speed limits, crossings and turning rules. Having priority never allows a driver to proceed when doing so would create danger or block an intersection.
Wikimedia.org • Marc Mongenet • CC BY-SA
How does priority-road status work in Switzerland?
The main-road sign, route principale or Hauptstrasse, removes the ordinary priority-from-the-right rule at the following junctions. The end-of-main-road sign restores that default rule unless another control applies. Read any diagram showing the priority route turning.
🔗 fedlex.admin.ch • Road Signs Ordinance articles 35-39,65; Traffic Rules Ordinance articles 6,14-15
🔗 fedlex.admin.ch • Supporting official source
Start of a priority road.
English • Traffic sign 3.03 • Priority road.
Deutsch • Verkehrssignal 3.03 • Hauptstrasse.
Français • Signal 3.03 • Route principale.
Italiano • Segnale 3.03 • Strada principale.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Fedlex.admin.ch • SSV, Anhang 2 (DE)
🔗 Fedlex.admin.ch • OSR, annexe 2 (FR)
🔗 Fedlex.admin.ch • OSStr, allegato 2 (IT)
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Bundesamt für Strassen (ASTRA) • Public domain • Original revision 2017-07-02. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Swiss signalling ordinance, version 1 October 2026, annex 2: Fedlex.admin.ch • Signal 3.03, PDF page 111. Catalogue-equivalent illustration; intentional update from the previous PNG. This is an educational illustration, not a manufacturing specification.
End of the priority road.
English • Traffic sign 3.04 • End of priority road.
Deutsch • Verkehrssignal 3.04 • Ende der Hauptstrasse.
Français • Signal 3.04 • Fin de la route principale.
Italiano • Segnale 3.04 • Fine della strada principale.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Fedlex.admin.ch • SSV, Anhang 2 (DE)
🔗 Fedlex.admin.ch • OSR, annexe 2 (FR)
🔗 Fedlex.admin.ch • OSStr, allegato 2 (IT)
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Bundesamt für Strassen (ASTRA) • Public domain • Original revision 2017-07-02. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Swiss signalling ordinance, version 1 October 2026, annex 2: Fedlex.admin.ch • Signal 3.04, PDF page 111. Catalogue-equivalent illustration; intentional update from the previous PNG. This is an educational illustration, not a manufacturing specification.
How can you tell where a priority road applies in Switzerland?
Read the priority-road sign, the corresponding end indication and any supplementary junction diagram. Distinguish a continuing road designation from a sign that regulates only one junction. If a diagram shows the priority route turning, follow that diagram rather than assuming the straight-ahead road has priority.
🔗 fedlex.admin.ch • Road Signs Ordinance articles 35-39,65; Traffic Rules Ordinance articles 6,14-15
Does having road priority let you ignore other controls in Switzerland?
No. Obey the applicable traffic signals and authorised directions, speed limits and crossing rules. Turning or changing lanes can require yielding, and having priority never permits entering a conflict that cannot be crossed safely.
🔗 fedlex.admin.ch • Road Signs Ordinance articles 35-39,65; Traffic Rules Ordinance articles 6,14-15

Traffic rules
Switzerland