Roundabout rules: who gives way and which lane
A roundabout has three questions in it. Do I go or wait? Which lane? When do I indicate? The roundabout rules below answer all three. They are written for Australia, where traffic goes round clockwise. The same ideas hold in Britain. In the United States and Europe you go round the other way, and left and right swap.
Who gives way
You give way to any vehicle already on the roundabout. That is the whole rule. Because traffic goes round clockwise, the cars already on it come at you from the right, which is why people say “give way to the right”. It is a good habit. The real rule is about who is on the roundabout, not which side they are on.
Slow down as you come up to it, and look right early. If the roundabout is clear, you do not have to stop. Stopping at an empty roundabout is one of the things that gets marked in a driving test.
If a car is on the roundabout and will pass in front of you, wait. If it has already passed your entry, or it is leaving at the exit before you, go.
Which lane
Most roundabouts have arrows painted on the road as you come up to them. If they do, the arrows win. If they do not:
| Where you are going | Lane on the way in |
|---|---|
| Left, the first exit | Left lane |
| Straight ahead | Either lane, unless an arrow says otherwise |
| Right, past halfway round | Right lane |
| All the way round (a U-turn) | Right lane |
Pick your lane before you reach the roundabout and stay in it. Do not change lanes on the roundabout itself.
When to indicate
- Turning left: indicate left as you come up to it, and keep it on until you are out.
- Going straight: no indicator on the way in. Indicate left as you pass the exit before yours.
- Turning right: indicate right on the way in and while you go round. Switch to left as you pass the exit before yours.
- Leaving: whichever way you came in, indicate left before your exit if you can. On a tiny roundabout there may not be time, and that is allowed.
The left indicator on the way out is the one people forget. It tells the driver waiting at the next entry that they can go.
Bikes on a roundabout
In Australia a cyclist may use the left lane all the way round, even to turn right. If you are leaving the roundabout and a bike in the left lane is going on round, you give way to it. Look for bikes before every exit, the same way you look for cars before every entry.
People on foot
A roundabout is not a place to cross. Walkers cross the arms, a little way back from the circle, where the traffic is in one lane and going one way. If you are driving out of a roundabout and someone is on a crossing on the exit arm, you give way to them like at any crossing.
The mistakes that get marked
- Stopping when it is clear. Slow, look, and keep rolling.
- The wrong lane. Going right from the left lane cuts across everyone.
- Indicating right to go straight. The driver at the next entry waits for nothing.
- No left indicator on the way out. The driver at the next entry waits for nothing, again.
- Looking only right. Check ahead and left as well. The car in front of you may stop.
Practise it for free
Wheelabout is a free driving game in your browser that starts you on a town full of roundabouts. You drive it from the driver’s seat, and it marks you the way a driving test marks you: did you look, were you in the right lane, was it safe to go. Pull out in front of someone and get away with it, and you still lose the marks, because you would on a test.
If you want to learn the roundabout from the footpath first, Swivelhead puts you on foot at one, and teaches you to cross the arm and never the circle.
Play Wheelabout free → — or read the learn to drive game guide for the rest of the junctions.