Roundabouts: How to Use Them and Why We Build Them
A roundabout is an intersection where traffic flows in a counter clockwise circle around a centre island.
Benefits of Roundabouts
Improved road safety: Right-angle and head-on collisions often cause serious injury when traffic is moving quickly through a normal intersection. Roundabouts provide a safer way because:
- Traffic moves more slowly through the intersection
- There are no left turns in front of oncoming vehicles
Improved traffic flow: Drivers have fewer stops and delays, since roundabouts do not have stop signs or traffic lights.
Reduced noise and air pollution: Roundabouts improve the quality of life for people living nearby.
- Slow-moving traffic makes less noise than traffic that must stop and start, speed up and brake
- Vehicles don't idle at stop signs or traffic lights. Drivers use less gas and fewer idling cars means less exhaust fumes
"How to" for Drivers
1. Approach
- Reduce your speed
- Watch for signs that may help you find your exit
- Watch for people using the crosswalk, and be ready to stop
2. Yield
- Yield to traffic already in the roundabout coming from your left
3. Enter
- Enter the roundabout to your right (a counter-clockwise direction) when there is a gap in traffic and you feel it is safe to do so
- Continue until you reach your exit
4. Exit
- Never come to a full stop in a roundabout unless traffic conditions require it
- Use your right turn signal to let others know where you plan to exit
- Exit at a slow speed
- As you exit, watch for people using the crosswalk, and be ready to stop
- If you miss your exit, keep going around the roundabout until you reach it again
"How to" for cyclists and pedestrians
Cross at marked crosswalks only. You will find them before each road reaches the roundabout.
Use the sidewalk and splitter island to wait for a gap in traffic that allows you time to cross.
Cross one direction of traffic at a time.
Never cross through the centre island.
Ride your bicycle through the roundabout as a motor vehicle. Or
Walk your bike across the crosswalk as a pedestrian.
Street signs in place near roundabouts
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| Roundabout Ahead Sign - This warning sign tells of the presence of a roundabout at the next intersection. | | Roundabout Yield Sign -This regulatory sign placed at the approach to the roundabout, instructs drivers to yield to vehicles in the roundabout approaching from the left. |
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