Aerial drone view of a school bus and traffic in a roundabout.shaunl/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
When are you supposed to signal in a roundabout? Most drivers don’t signal at all, but those who do usually signal when they get into it. That doesn’t make sense to me because there’s only one way to go – into the roundabout. – Sheila, Oshawa, Ont.
When it comes to roundabouts, signalling should be straightforward.
Generally, drivers already know you’re going in, but you should signal to let them know when you’re going to leave.
“Don’t bother signalling going in. Your intention to enter is very apparent,” said Angelo DiCicco, chief executive officer of the Ontario Safety League, a non-profit focusing on driver education. “But if you can, it’s pretty simple to signal which exit you want. That helps everyone.”
Roundabouts, also called traffic circles, are circular intersections where drivers travel counterclockwise around a centre island.
When you enter one, slow down and yield to cars that are already in the circle. Enter when there’s a gap in traffic. Then, as you approach your exit, turn on your right signal, DiCicco said.
Ontario’s Driver’s Handbook states you should signal after you pass the exit before the one you want.
“The best-laid roundabouts give you plenty of time to signal,” DiCicco said. “If you signal, someone who’s entering should be able to slide in before you.”
When drivers in the roundabout signal too early or don’t signal at all, a driver entering might stop to wait to see what you’re doing, he said.
“You don’t want to stop because it should be totally unnecessary,” DiCicco said. “It’s not a four-way stop.”
Go with the flow?
While roundabouts are common in many other countries, they’re relatively new and uncommon in many Canadian cities, DiCicco said.
“They can be very confusing to anyone who hasn’t been properly trained on them,” he said. “But if everyone chose the correct speed and you’re under control, everyone gets through that intersection much quicker and more efficiently.”
Studies out of the United States show changing a four-way intersection with traffic signals or stop signs to a roundabout reduces crashes with injuries by 72 to 80 per cent, according to the American-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
That’s because a well-designed roundabout should slow drivers down. Also, drivers aren’t turning left in front of other vehicles – so you won’t see head-on or T-bone crashes.
The trouble is that too many drivers don’t understand the rules, DiCicco said.
For instance, some drivers think the busier road leading into the circle has priority over others, but that’s not true – every driver should yield as they enter, he said.
That means drivers shouldn’t follow other cars into the circle without yielding – there should never be a convoy of cars going through one entrance while everyone else sits waiting, DiCicco said.
If the roundabout has more than one lane, it can be more complicated. Before you enter, make sure you’re in the lane that matches the exit you need – there are usually signs before the circle that show where the lanes exit, he said.
If you do change lanes in the roundabout, signal your lane changes like you normally would.
Slow and steady?
The biggest problem is most drivers don’t slow down enough.
Generally, you shouldn’t be going more than 20 kilometres an hour in most roundabouts, DiCicco said.
“Some of the larger roundabouts can be faster,” he said. “Many of them now have posted speed limits because they’ve had to do that.”
When everyone slows down, there are more natural gaps in traffic, giving other drivers a chance to enter without worrying that you’ll hit them, DiCicco said.
If you’re going too fast through the roundabout, other drivers might not risk entering – even if you’re signalling that you want to leave. When one driver stops to wait before entering, it forces everyone behind them to stop, backing up traffic, he said.
“If the person entering doesn’t think you’re slowing down to get out, then they are going to stop,” DiCicco said. “And you’ve just made it worse for the next 10 drivers.”
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