The Roundabout in America

Roundabouts have been slow to catch on here in the USA, but they are very common in other parts of the world and they are becoming more common here as well.  This doesn’t, however, keep the average stateside driver from hating them irrationally.  Let me ask you, what's not to like about a traffic interchange that saves taxpayer dollars, saves lives, and keeps traffic moving at the same time?  If drivers in other countries can learn to use them safely, so can you!

How do they save tax dollars?  They typically require less land when they are buying expensive real estate for an intersection, and they don’t require a hugely expensive signal light system – just a few yield signs.  They keep traffic moving because even when busy, everyone can typically keep moving – there is no 45 second wait for a signal to “come around.”  Saving lives is easy, when the only possibilities for wrecks are lane-changing sideswipes and low speed failure to yield conflicts.  The left-turn fatal or serious injury collisions, the red-light-runner t-bones, and the potential head-ons at normal intersections all go away.   

Once you understand how the roundabout is supposed to work, and what the rules are for using them, they become less-intimidating and less stressful to use. If my little essay doesn’t work for you, search online for instructional videos – there’s more than one.  ADOT has one specific to Arizona that is very good, but the rules are basically the same everywhere.  Please note that this discussion is not for the "traffic circles" often used for traffic-calming in neighborhoods or business areas.  Those are different.

The first rule about using a roundabout is you need to know where you are going.  There are signs posted ahead of a roundabout that show you graphically which lane you want for which direction you wish to exit the thing.  Pay attention to those signs if you don’t already know which lane you want – and position yourself in the lane you want.  This may seem elementary, but you and I both know that a vast number of drivers don’t pay attention to anything except their cell phone conversation or even worse, their text messages (don’t let this be you). But typically, you want the right lane entry for a right turn or straight through.  You want the left lane entry for straight through, for left turning and for u-turns.

Then, on arrival at the entry point, prepare your mind to yield, not roll right on in. All roundabouts should require a yield on entry; the vehicles already in it have the right-of-way. You may need to wait a few seconds to yield and then enter the traffic flow in the circle. When you do, enter directly to the lane from which you will exit the roundabout – this is not like a turn at an intersection where you must turn right lane to right lane, or left lane to left lane.  One thing they don’t want you to have to do is to change lanes in the roundabout.

Then just drive on through. Keep in mind the roundabout is not intended to be a high-speed interchange.  Maximum speed is typically 20-25 mph.

One or two more things – if you are driving a long vehicle, pulling a trailer, etc, the center apron is designed to allow you to drive on it.   If you encounter an emergency vehicle in or near a roundabout, you yield to them the same as you would anywhere else – clear the roundabout if you have time to do that, and pull to the right as far as possible, stop and wait there until they have passed the required distance down the road before you resume driving.  If you have to stop IN the roundabout because you weren’t paying attention and they caught you by surprise, pull to the right and stop where you are.

Once you learn to follow these rules, you’ll get used to driving in roundabouts and they won’t stress you out!

Keep the shiny side up!