small traffic circle driving rules: right of way

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I'm talking about those small circles like this:

trafficcircle.jpg


Some are marked with 10 mpg.

I'm guilty of taking those a bit faster 15-20 mpg when there is no traffic as my cars tend to be nimble enough.

However, I met my match lately. Someone who flies through them with no stopping and I had 2 close calls (not sure if the same driver, but same spot). What confused me about it, I felt I was first, but the other driver was on the right. Which rule would apply here?

I googled and found this:

Quote:
Seattle’s Department of Transportation website says “Under state law, when two vehicles approach an intersection with no stop signs at about the same time, the driver on the left shall always yield to the driver on the right. This is also true for intersections that have a traffic circle or all-way stops.”


Would that apply to all states?
 
In my location, traffic in the circle has the right of way. So if a car on the left gets into the circle before you, you have to yield to the car.

There is also a yield sign at the entry, which should indicate that you yield to traffic already in the circle.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Would that apply to all states?

The "right of way" rule is generally accepted in most states. You should probably pull out the driver's manual for your own state to double check.

Sadly, most drivers here are oblivious to this rule.


However, proper circles/roundabouts have their own specific rules, such as yield to the vehicles that are already on the circle. I can't tell from your photo what rules apply to that particular circle.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
In my location, traffic in the circle has the right of way. So if a car on the left gets into the circle before you, you have to yield to the car.

There is also a yield sign at the entry, which should indicate that you yield to traffic already in the circle.

This is how I've seen it in NY, CO, and AZ.

The other rule doesn't apply to circles as far as I know.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
I'm talking about those small circles like this:

trafficcircle.jpg


Some are marked with 10 mpg.

I'm guilty of taking those a bit faster 15-20 mpg when there is no traffic as my cars tend to be nimble enough.

However, I met my match lately. Someone who flies through them with no stopping and I had 2 close calls (not sure if the same driver, but same spot). What confused me about it, I felt I was first, but the other driver was on the right. Which rule would apply here?

I googled and found this:

Quote:
Seattle’s Department of Transportation website says “Under state law, when two vehicles approach an intersection with no stop signs at about the same time, the driver on the left shall always yield to the driver on the right. This is also true for intersections that have a traffic circle or all-way stops.”


Would that apply to all states?


I've never encountered such an intersection... Circles and roundabouts simply have not existed around here until EXTREMELY recently, as in the first one is still under construction...
 
That photo is the southeast? Looks like very close to where I live.

In a traffic circle or "round-a-bout", the traffic IN the circle has the right of way.

So as you approach, you need to only look to your LEFT to see if any vehicles are in the circle....if so....you MUST yield to them.

In your situation I would suppose you need to get to the circle before the other person does if you want the right-of-way.
 
I hate traffic circles. I fail to see how they are more efficient. I always end up waiting in line for 20 minutes on the few we have around here.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
In UK they go clockwise vs counter clockwise.
they also drive on the other side of the road, so of course theirs would flow the opposite direction.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
I can't tell from your photo what rules apply to that particular circle.


that was not the actual circle, just an example I googled (from west seatle).
the actual circle in question is in a residential area and there is no sign whatsoever. Some other ones have a sign like this:

0051.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
That photo is the southeast? Looks like very close to where I live.

In a traffic circle or "round-a-bout", the traffic IN the circle has the right of way.

So as you approach, you need to only look to your LEFT to see if any vehicles are in the circle....if so....you MUST yield to them.

In your situation I would suppose you need to get to the circle before the other person does if you want the right-of-way.


no, the picture is from your area indeed. how did you guess?

the more I think about it, the more you are right. the only problem is, there is hardly a circle, if were to get on the "circle", I would have collided. I guess if in doubt, yield to the person on the right should be safe.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
I'd like to see someone drift around one of those,and get 10mpg doing it.


LOL, you got me here, darn dyslexia. I meant mph.
 
Originally Posted By: earlyre
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
I'm talking about those small circles like this:

trafficcircle.jpg


Some are marked with 10 mpg.

I'm guilty of taking those a bit faster 15-20 mpg when there is no traffic as my cars tend to be nimble enough.

However, I met my match lately. Someone who flies through them with no stopping and I had 2 close calls (not sure if the same driver, but same spot). What confused me about it, I felt I was first, but the other driver was on the right. Which rule would apply here?

I googled and found this:

Quote:
Seattle’s Department of Transportation website says “Under state law, when two vehicles approach an intersection with no stop signs at about the same time, the driver on the left shall always yield to the driver on the right. This is also true for intersections that have a traffic circle or all-way stops.”


Would that apply to all states?


I've never encountered such an intersection... Circles and roundabouts simply have not existed around here until EXTREMELY recently, as in the first one is still under construction...


They are all the rage here in Columbus and I hate them. Ones like this example around here have yield signs but people blow through without slowing down.

John
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I hate traffic circles. I fail to see how they are more efficient. I always end up waiting in line for 20 minutes on the few we have around here.

the very touted quality of traffic circles is most "encounters"/traffic accidents happens at angle not T-bone/head-on collisions which are more deadly/damaging. but i have seen the after results in europe for a few that "jumped" trough the circle (and whatever in their path).
if the drivers are educated about them they can help the flow of traffic (if no stop sign are involved...)
if they are a rarity, then you get what you experienced.....
 
I read that some European cities did away with all traffic signs. The result was less accidents and better traffic flow.

With no guidance people tend to be more cautious.
 
In Minnesota, every leg of that roundabout would have a yield sign before the roundabout with a roundabout symbol under it. You yield to the vehicle in the roundabout, and that's it. All you have to do is look left.

That being said, that works well in larger roundabouts. We have a mini roundabout that is trickier - the speeds through it are higher than they should be since it doesn't have the splitter islands and other obstacles to slow speeds down prior to entry.

Traffic circles are another beast altogether and are not the same thing as a roundabout.

Roundabouts work well when properly designed and implemented. A nearby intersection went from long traffic delays for a 4 way stop and a series of high speed crashes from cars that didn't stop, to being virtually no delay and no serious accidents since. I'll take the minor fender benders instead of the high speed collisions.
 
That's not a real traffic circle, its a piece of "traffic calming" bovine excrement. We've had piles of them in some older neighborhoods for 20+ years now.

That said, all "standard" rules apply:

1) Traffic already "in" the circle (which is a matter of inches in one of these things) has the ROW.

2)If two cars truly approach completely simultaneously, it shouldn't really matter as you'll wind up nose-to-tail, but the car on the right would have the ROW at an ordinary 4-way stop, and giving the car on the right in this situation the ROW improves the overall efficiency for the same reason. It takes less total time for the car on the left to pause and then fall in behind the car on the right than it does for the car on the right to wait for the car on the left to enter the circle, pass in front of him, and then enter behind the car that started out on the left.

The whole problem with these "traffic calming" micro-roundabouts is that there isn't physical ROOM for the traffic circle to work the way it should- namely to let two cars enter at EXACTLY the same instant and still never interfere with each other.
 
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