# Morons who don't know how to use traffic roundabouts **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 14, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255 "2017-07-14T15:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/41 "2017-07-15T04:56:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > How exactly do you “turn left” from an inner lane? In fact, how do you do anything from the inner lane? At some point you have to get back to the outer line to get out of the rotary/circle and back onto the road. No, you leave directly from the left lane. These roundabouts are NOT necessarily the same as some decades-old “traffic circle” or “rotary.” In an American roundabout, you get in the proper lane for your turn before entering, yield to traffic in all lanes even if you’re entering the outermost lane, don’t change lanes, and exit from your assigned lane. These rules are not intuitive (especially the yield to all lanes rule) and were badly-explained at my local roundabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/42 "2017-07-15T09:27:48Z")
It really is only a matter of education. There is no debate about whether roundabouts are a more efficient means of setting up intersections…they are. The rules as I was taught in the UK are… Give way to anything on the roundabout before entering (because there may be a vehicle on the inside lane needing to transition to the outer) and when entering, choose the lane that it nearest your exit. (for the USA, right lane when going right, left lane for going left) for going straight ahead choose the right lane unless all those in that lane are indicting to turn right or if the two-lanes continue after the roundabout. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/43 "2017-07-15T11:30:41Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > These roundabouts are NOT necessarily the same as some decades-old “traffic circle” or “rotary.” > > In an American roundabout[…] These terms were synonymous. When and where did the distinction occur? Because you aren’t describing the roads I drive on. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/44 "2017-07-15T11:39:28Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > … > Then you have the infamous [Swindon Magic Roundabout](http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/england/3766-swindon-s-magic-roundabout.html), which consists of one massive counter-rotating (in England, that’s counter-clockwise) circle surrounded by five smaller normal (clockwise) circles! :eek: OG help [del]us[/del] them! I’ve posted this before I think, but I had to navigate this bastard [magic roundabout](http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/webimage/1.3397477.1329303422!/image/1307923931.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/1307923931.jpg) when I took my road test. I’m still half proud and half terrorized. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/45 "2017-07-15T12:16:34Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > These terms were synonymous. When and where did the distinction occur? Because you aren’t describing the roads I drive on. I should probably say “In an American _modern_ roundabout.” That seems to be the term used to differentiate the new ones from the old rotaries/circles/whatevers. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/46 "2017-07-15T14:31:10Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > No, you leave directly from the left lane. These roundabouts are NOT necessarily the same as some decades-old “traffic circle” or “rotary.” > > In an American roundabout, you get in the proper lane for your turn before entering, yield to traffic in all lanes even if you’re entering the outermost lane, don’t change lanes, and exit from your assigned lane. These rules are not intuitive (especially the yield to all lanes rule) and were badly-explained at my local roundabouts. Also unless you are a regular driver in the route, you may be confused as to whether you ARE in the proper lane to begin with, especially if the traffic circle itself is badly designed or marked. In one of the cities of the San Juan metro area the former mayor became enamored with traffic circles and began planting them all over the place, sometimes shoehorning them into crossings in already-urbanized areas that made for what drivers considered a too-tight circumference. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/47 "2017-07-15T15:03:59Z")
They’ve been adding them like crazy in the Twin Cities 'burbs - and I hate them. I know how to use them, but a lot of people don’t. People don’t pay enough attention while driving to make me feel safe with them and there aren’t a lot of evasive maneuvers that are possible when traffic is moving through. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/48 "2017-07-15T15:07:33Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I’ve posted this before I think, but I had to navigate this bastard [magic roundabout](http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/webimage/1.3397477.1329303422!/image/1307923931.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/1307923931.jpg) when I took my road test. I’m still half proud and half terrorized. I’m impressed. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/49 "2017-07-15T15:15:07Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > The rules as I was taught in the UK are… Give way to anything on the roundabout before entering (because there may be a vehicle on the inside lane needing to transition to the outer) in the US (or at least Michigan) you are not allowed to change lanes once in the circle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/50 "2017-07-15T15:33:21Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > in the US (or at least Michigan) you are not allowed to change lanes once in the circle. So if you navigate to the inner lane, you’re stuck there perpetually? I don’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/51 "2017-07-15T16:04:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So if you navigate to the inner lane, you’re stuck there perpetually? I don’t understand. That was my reaction too, if that truly is the rule in the USA then I can see why they might not catch on. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/52 "2017-07-15T17:42:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > They are the wrong solution for the problem. Mesa added a whole random assortment of roundabouts, replacing traffic lights, but they made them too small. You have to slow from the nominal 45 mph road speed to about 20 just to make the turn … So what is gained? Confusion and net slower traffic flow. In my area, they are called “traffic calming features”: slowing down traffic is exactly the point. If you are approaching a red on a 45 mph road, you have to come to a stop and wait for a green; being able to slow to 20 and not actually have to stop is a net gain. Not having the long seconds of no one in the intersection, in order to clear it for the change, is a net gain. Not having to sit for a red at 2am, when the other 3 streets are empty, is a net gain. I have heard it suggested that switching the whole country over to roundabouts where ever possible, would yield something like a 40% reduction in fuel consumption along with some significant reduction in fatalities. Once everyone gets used to them, obviously. In my area, the ones they build have a large inner apron with a rounded curb, to accommodate semis. Large vehicles are generally expected to occupy more lanes. The car people just have to adapt to that idea. The real losers in roundabouts are pedestrians. But no one cares about them. What the hell are they doing out there in foot anyway? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/53 "2017-07-15T17:56:28Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So if you navigate to the inner lane, you’re stuck there perpetually? I don’t understand. there are signs [like this](http://www.wcroads.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/R3-8-Roundabout-LT-T_R-54-x-36-3-300x200.jpg) placed adequate distances before the roundabout, telling you which lane you should be in. if you find you’re in the wrong lane once in the circle, tough shit. don’t drive with your head up your ass. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/54 "2017-07-15T19:30:43Z")
If only we had more of those signs. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/55 "2017-07-15T19:50:14Z")
They often have markings on the road itself. Not that anyone actually ever looks at where they are going. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/56 "2017-07-15T20:15:02Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > If only we had more of those signs. aren’t DC’s traffic circles a different thing from roundabouts? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/57 "2017-07-15T20:18:40Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > there are signs [like this](http://www.wcroads.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/R3-8-Roundabout-LT-T_R-54-x-36-3-300x200.jpg) placed adequate distances before the roundabout, telling you which lane you should be in. if you find you’re in the wrong lane once in the circle, tough shit. don’t drive with your head up your ass. I still think there’s an issue with cars in the inside lane leaving the roundabout, and cars in the outside lane staying in. Yeah, you’re not supposed to drive right next to someone, but how much clearance are you comfortable with when another car is crossing your path? And the inner lane is a shorter path, so you have to be diligent to maintain the proper spacing. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/58 "2017-07-15T20:20:55Z")
TPTB installed a bunch of RAs on the main drag of my town a few years back. People _still_ don’t know how to use them, despite the signs. I am of the opinion that the cops should station cars down the side streets, and every time they see someone cut through the center of the RA (running over the low curb) or otherwise fail to negotiate the thing correctly and promptly, they pull the offender over and immediately confiscate their driver’s license, since they are obviously **too fucking stupid** to be trusted with a motor vehicle! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/59 "2017-07-15T20:42:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I still think there’s an issue with cars in the inside lane leaving the roundabout, and cars in the outside lane staying in. Yeah, you’re not supposed to drive right next to someone, but how much clearance are you comfortable with when another car is crossing your path? And the inner lane is a shorter path, so you have to be diligent to maintain the proper spacing. in that case, the car using the outside lane shouldn’t be entering the roundabout until I’ve passed. If traffic is coming around the circle towards you, they have right of way and you do not enter. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255/60 "2017-07-15T21:38:03Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > in that case, the car using the outside lane shouldn’t be entering the roundabout until I’ve passed. If traffic is coming around the circle towards you, they have right of way and you do not enter. I know, but what about once we’re both in the roundabout; how much space, in front or behind, do you do you need to cross over the outside lane and exit the roundabout? And whose responsibility is it to maintain the separation, yours or mine? I mean, they obviously can, and do, work in certain places and situations. I drive through them all the time where I live. I just think there’s a lot of potential for misunderstandings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-who-dont-know-how-to-use-traffic-roundabouts/791255.md?page=4)