Roundabout lane choice — District of Columbia Permit Test
Roundabout lane choice on the District of Columbia permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
If you plan to turn right at a roundabout, stay to the right as you enter.
Being in the right lane lets you leave at the first exit without crossing anyone still going around.
If you plan to turn right, stay to the right as you enter the roundabout.
If you plan to turn left at a roundabout, stay to the left as you enter.
A left turn means going most of the way around, so the inside lane keeps you clear of cars leaving at the nearer exits.
If you plan to turn left, stay to the left as you enter the roundabout.
If you plan to go straight through a dual-lane roundabout, you may stay in either lane.
Going straight crosses no one's path in either lane, so both are allowed and traffic spreads out.
If you plan to go straight, you may stay in either lane (if it is a dual lane circular intersection).
On the test
You plan to turn right at a roundabout. Where should you be as you enter?
To the right. Being in the right lane lets you leave at the first exit without crossing anyone still going around. DC Driver Manual, p.51: “If you plan to turn right, stay to the right as you enter the roundabout.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
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All District of Columbia permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against DC Driver Manual, published by the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/DC.pdf (DC Driver Manual (English), Rev. 7/29/2021, District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles, fetched 2026-10-05 from the Wayback Machine's original-bytes capture of dmv.dc.gov; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/DC.pages.txt (the plain pdftotext fixture every citation here was cut from and verified against; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- https://dmv.dc.gov/publication/dc-dmv-automobile-driver-manual (read 2026-10-05; links only the 2023 Issuu flipbooks)
- https://issuu.com/dcdmv/docs/dc_dmv_driver_manual_english_revised_final (the current 2023 edition, read 2026-10-05 from its public page images to diff against the pinned edition; not pinnable)
- https://dmv.dc.gov/service/knowledge-tests (read 2026-10-05; states no count or mark for the knowledge test)
- https://dcregs.dc.gov/Common/DCMR/RuleList.aspx?ChapterNum=18-1 (18 DCMR chapter 1, sections 100-114, read 2026-10-05; section 104 sets what the examination covers and states no figure)
- https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-1401.01 (D.C. Code 50-1401.01, read 2026-10-05; requires a knowledge examination and states no figure)