ST. LOUIS – Do you know how to properly use a roundabout when you come across one in your travels? The U.S. Department of Transportation has three easy steps you can use to make sure that you are following the roundabout rules properly.
A roundabout is a circular intersection that is meant to make traffic move better, cut down on congestion, and make the area safer than regular intersections with traffic lights or stop signs.
There are a lot of countries that use roundabouts to help with traffic control. In some places, they are also called traffic circles or rotaries.
The three steps are:
Slow down
Look around
Be ready to yield.
When approaching the roundabout, slow down. When you enter the roundabout at a slower speed, it gives you more time to make decisions and be better prepared to yield to other road users. And if crashes do occur, they will be less severe.
Look around and find the lane you will be entering and where you want to go after the roundabout. The left lane is used to go left, the right lane is used to go right, and either lane can be used to go straight through unless it says otherwise. Drivers should be alert to pedestrians crossing and other traffic entering the lane they are entering.
Be ready to yield to pedestrians. Drivers should be ready to stop for pedestrians and let them finish walking in the crosswalk before continuing.
The Department of Transportation’s PDF on roundabouts states, “Drivers must yield to traffic in all lanes of the roundabout, not just in the lane closest to them.”
It is better for drivers to give trucks and buses room and not drive next to them in the roundabout. As drivers leave the circle, they should keep to the lines on the road and not cross into other lanes, and stay in the correct lane.
