# distinction between a traffic circle, a roundabout, and a rotary (a language question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775 "2012-10-24T23:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775/21 "2012-10-25T13:33:16Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > The only exception anywhere in the world that I know of (there could of course be others, but this is the most famous one) is the Place de l’Etoile, around the Arc de Triomphe. Entering traffic has the right of way. Fun to watch from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, but it must be a nightmare to be in the middle of it. I have lived in a town where there were two of them, much to the consternation of people not familiar with it. However, I just checked the place and they have both been redesign to normal street crossings. [This roundabout](http://goo.gl/maps/puoz8) is also a bit confusing to strangers as it doesn’t look like one because of the railway going across it. [Google Maps](http://goo.gl/maps/4TRjf) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775/22 "2012-10-25T14:10:34Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > The Shepherd & Flock roundabout in Farnham is big enough to have several houses and a pub in it! Yes I came in to mention this one. It’s a pretty unusual one in that there is an entrance and an exit off the inside of the roundabout. [Aerial view](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=farnham&hl=en&ll=51.219922,-0.778012&spn=0.003373,0.006233&sll=51.528642,-0.101599&sspn=0.42889,0.797882&t=h&hnear=Farnham,+Surrey,+United+Kingdom&z=17). Street view: [note the unlabelled filter lane at the extreme right to reach the pub and houses in the middle](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=farnham&hl=en&ll=51.220043,-0.77974&spn=0.001687,0.003117&sll=51.528642,-0.101599&sspn=0.42889,0.797882&t=h&hnear=Farnham,+Surrey,+United+Kingdom&z=18&layer=c&cbll=51.220197,-0.779615&panoid=Y_laj_KPHArXbqxp6-TGjQ&cbp=12,38.31,,2,3.02). If you’re exiting onto the roundabout [here](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=farnham&hl=en&ll=51.220584,-0.779316&spn=0.001687,0.003117&sll=51.528642,-0.101599&sspn=0.42889,0.797882&t=h&hnear=Farnham,+Surrey,+United+Kingdom&z=18&layer=c&cbll=51.220664,-0.779252&panoid=q5JmFNJpJBQpqEgfiTPf0Q&cbp=12,66.5,,1,7.16) you have to give way to traffic coming from the _left_. Farnborough, nearby, has another roundabout [containing a pub](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=farnborough&hl=en&ll=51.296115,-0.753824&spn=0.001697,0.003117&sll=51.219673,-0.777277&sspn=0.001687,0.003117&t=h&hnear=Farnborough,+Hampshire,+United+Kingdom&z=18). (I pass this one every day on my bike.) It also has one containing a [car park](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=farnborough&hl=en&ll=51.289362,-0.753701&spn=0.001698,0.003117&sll=51.219673,-0.777277&sspn=0.001687,0.003117&t=h&hnear=Farnborough,+Hampshire,+United+Kingdom&z=18), although this is accessed via an underpass from the adjacent car park, rather than off the roundabout. **Floater** : never mind a railway - how about another [road](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=winnersh&hl=en&ll=51.43631,-0.897017&spn=0.001679,0.003117&sll=58.609083,16.160148&sspn=0.002828,0.006233&t=k&hnear=Winnersh,+Wokingham,+United+Kingdom&z=18)? (This is known as a “hamburger” roundabout, for reasons which become obvious if you tilt your head 90 degrees…) ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775/23 "2012-10-25T17:29:21Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > As far as I’m concerned, a circular intersection needs several features to be considered a roundabout: \ Those features seem to be the standard distinctions (particularly the splitter islands) here in the US anyway: _Roundabouts are different from other types of circular intersections that you might have seen. They are not rotaries or the older traffic circles, which are still common in the northeastern United States, which typically have higher speeds on approaches and usually higher speeds within the circle. They may use stop- or signal-control, or they may require circulating traffic to yield to entering traffic. A roundabout is also not the same thing as a neighborhood traffic circle, typically used on local streets for speed control. [Link to the USDOT site](http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/roundabouts/fhwasa10023/transcript/audio_no_speaker/)_ My state (Washington) has been on a bit of a [roundabout binge](http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/safety/roundabouts/washingtons.htm) having built 120 of them in the last fifteen years, with more to come. I have two of them within a mile of my home. My first exposure to them was visiting Coventry, England about fifteen years ago. The gentleman I was working with took me to a pub for lunch and we must have breezed through about four of them in five minutes. So elegant. I immediately became a convert. [Research](http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/roundabouts.aspx) has shown that they improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and increase fuel economy. What’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775/24 "2012-10-25T18:24:46Z")
A traffic circle is the older term, and traffic circles are much larger than roundabouts. There has been a boom in building roundabouts in the US. The older circles were usually built before engineers knew how to build them, and are don’t slow down traffic enough to avoid accidents. Most US traffic circles are being redesigned to make them work more like roundabouts. ---
**Author:** ![ScottRAB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@ScottRAB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScottRAB)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775/25 "2012-10-25T20:26:49Z")
If you want to see the difference between a traffic circle, a rotary (UK roundabout) and a modern roundabout, search www.k-state.edu to see pictures. The FHWA has a video about modern roundabouts that is mostly accurate ([Modern Roundabouts: A Safer Choice - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhHzly_6lWM) ). ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775/26 "2012-10-25T20:45:55Z")
> [@ScottRAB](#): > > a rotary (UK roundabout) and a modern roundabout Can you explain this distinction, please. I’m having trouble seeing the difference between what you term a ‘modern roundabout’ and a standard UK roundabout (ignoring mini- or ‘magic’-roundabouts) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinction-between-a-traffic-circle-a-roundabout-and-a-rotary-a-language-question/638775.md?page=1)