Is the driver in this situation obliged to give way to a truck?

Explanation

He is obliged to; on leaving a residential zone, priority belongs to vehicles travelling on the road.

The blue sign on the right of the picture — showing a car, a pedestrian and a child at play, with a diagonal red line across it — is the "end of residential zone" sign. That is, you are emerging from a residential zone and entering the public carriageway; the same carriageway on which the white lorry at the left of the frame is travelling.

The rule is simple and admits of no exception: a driver leaving a residential zone gives way to all vehicles and pedestrians travelling on the road. The safety reason is clear: inside a residential zone speeds are very low, but the road outside carries normal speeds. A vehicle emerging from that low-speed environment usually has restricted visibility of the carriageway and its speed is out of step with the traffic flow; if it tried to go first, a side impact would be almost certain. A lorry, with its mass and longer braking distance, is the worst possible candidate for "maybe I can get across first".

Worth memorising: leaving a residential zone, a yard, a car park or any adjacent territory does not count as a junction of two roads. So the "priority to the right" rule does not come into play at all here; you give way in every case. Your wing mirror is only for making sure the space behind is clear, not a reason to hurry.

• "Not obliged" would be right if you were entering a junction from a road of equal status; but the end-of-residential-zone sign tells you that you are emerging from an area in which no priority is defined for you.

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