Wegen des Gegenverkehrs warten wir kurz, bevor wir nach links fahren.

Because wegen normally takes the genitive case in standard German.

• der Gegenverkehr = the oncoming traffic
• Genitive singular: des Gegenverkehrs

So:

• wegen des Gegenverkehrs = because of the oncoming traffic

Two things mark the genitive here:

• des instead of der
• the extra -s on Gegenverkehr

In everyday spoken German, you may sometimes hear wegen dem Gegenverkehr with the dative, but wegen des Gegenverkehrs is the standard form learners should know.

Gegenverkehr means oncoming traffic—traffic coming toward you from the opposite direction.

It is made up of:

• gegen = against / opposite
• Verkehr = traffic

So in a driving context, Gegenverkehr is the stream of vehicles approaching from the other side of the road.

Because the sentence starts with a different element: Wegen des Gegenverkehrs.

In a normal main clause, German follows the verb-second rule. That means the conjugated verb must be the second element in the sentence.

So the structure is:

• Wegen des Gegenverkehrs = first element
• warten = second element, so it comes before the subject
• wir = subject

That gives:

• Wegen des Gegenverkehrs warten wir kurz ...

If the sentence began with the subject, then you would get:

• Wir warten wegen des Gegenverkehrs kurz ...

That is also grammatical, but the emphasis is a little different.

Here kurz means briefly or for a short time.

So warten wir kurz means:

• we wait briefly
• we wait for a moment

It is an adverb here, describing how long the waiting lasts.

Because bevor introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses are normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

So:

• Main clause: Wegen des Gegenverkehrs warten wir kurz
• Subordinate clause: bevor wir nach links fahren

The comma is required.

Because bevor is a subordinating conjunction.

When a subordinate clause begins with words like bevor, weil, dass, wenn, or obwohl, the conjugated verb usually goes to the end of that clause.

So:

• bevor wir nach links fahren
• not bevor wir fahren nach links

This is one of the most important German word-order patterns to learn.

Bevor means before as a conjunction. It connects two actions or clauses.

• ..., bevor wir nach links fahren. = ... before we drive left / before we turn left.

Vor, on the other hand, is usually a preposition meaning things like in front of or before in a time sense with a noun.

Compare:

• bevor wir fahren = before we drive
• vor der Fahrt = before the drive / before the trip

So bevor is used before a clause with a verb, while vor is used before a noun phrase.

Nach links is a common German expression meaning to the left or leftward.

Here nach shows direction in an idiomatic way with links and rechts:

• nach links = to the left
• nach rechts = to the right

This is very common in movement contexts, especially driving:

• nach links fahren
• nach rechts schauen
• nach links abbiegen

Sometimes, but nach links fahren is clearer and more natural here.

• links by itself can mean on the left or leftward, depending on context.
• nach links clearly emphasizes direction: toward the left.

In traffic language, German often prefers:

• nach links fahren
• nach links abbiegen

So links fahren might be understood in some contexts, but nach links fahren is the safer and more standard choice here.

Often yes, especially in a driving situation.

• nach links fahren = drive to the left
• nach links abbiegen = turn left

If the situation is specifically about making a left turn at an intersection, abbiegen is often the more precise verb.

So you could also say:

• Wegen des Gegenverkehrs warten wir kurz, bevor wir nach links abbiegen.

That may sound even more natural in many road-traffic contexts.

Because warten can be used in two different ways:

1. warten = to wait

   • no object needed
   • Wir warten kurz. = We wait briefly.

2. auf + accusative warten = to wait for something/someone

   • Wir warten auf den Bus. = We are waiting for the bus.

In your sentence, the idea is simply we wait briefly, not we wait for the oncoming traffic as a direct object. The reason for waiting is already expressed by wegen des Gegenverkehrs.

They both mark the genitive singular masculine/neuter.

The noun Verkehr is masculine:

• nominative: der Gegenverkehr
• genitive: des Gegenverkehrs

So:

• des is the genitive article
• -s is the genitive noun ending

This is very common with masculine and neuter nouns in the singular:

• der Mann → des Mannes
• das Auto → des Autos
• der Gegenverkehr → des Gegenverkehrs

Yes. German word order is flexible, but the verb-second rule in the main clause still applies.

For example, you could also say:

• Wir warten wegen des Gegenverkehrs kurz, bevor wir nach links fahren.

This version starts with Wir, so the verb stays after the subject:

• Wir warten ...

Both versions are correct. The original puts more emphasis on the reason:

• Wegen des Gegenverkehrs ...

It is singular here, but it refers to traffic in a collective sense, much like traffic in English.

So even though it does not refer to just one vehicle, German treats Gegenverkehr as a singular mass or collective noun in this context:

• der Gegenverkehr
• wegen des Gegenverkehrs

That is completely normal.