Roundabouts — Missouri Permit Test

Roundabouts reduce fatal and injury crashes by lowering speeds and by removing left turns across opposing traffic.

The two most dangerous things at an ordinary intersection are speed and the left turn. A roundabout takes away both.

Statistically roundabouts are safer than traditional intersections because they reduce fatal and injury crashes by reduction of speeds and removing left-turns in front of opposing traffic.

Roundabouts have yield signs at every entering roadway leg.

Yield, not stop. Traffic keeps moving, which is why a roundabout clears faster than a four-way stop.

Roundabouts feature yield traffic signs at all entering roadway legs.

At a roundabout, drivers make a slight right turn to go counterclockwise around a circular center island.

Everything about a roundabout is a right turn. Anyone looking for a left turn into it has misread the layout.

drivers who approach the intersection make a slight right turn to go counterclockwise around a circular center island

Never make a left turn to enter a roundabout.

A left turn into the circle sends you against everything already in it. It is the one movement the design cannot absorb.

NEVER make a left turn to enter a roundabout.

Look to your left as you approach a roundabout entrance, and yield to traffic already in it, to bicyclists, and to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

Traffic reaches you from the left because the circle runs counterclockwise. That is the direction your eyes have to go first.

Look to your left as you drive towards the entrance, yield to traffic already in the roundabout, bicyclists, and pedestrians in the crosswalk.

Vehicles within a roundabout have the right of way.

Once a car is in the circle it cannot stop without blocking everything behind it. That is why the wait belongs to the driver entering.

Vehicles within the roundabout have the right of way.

Do not stop within a roundabout unless it is the only way to avoid a crash, and do not change lanes within one.

A roundabout works because everything in it keeps moving. A stopped car turns it back into a jam.

DO NOT stop within a roundabout unless it is the only way to avoid a crash.

If you miss your exit, continue through the roundabout until you reach the right one.

Going around again costs you ten seconds. Braking or swerving for the exit costs a great deal more.

If you miss your exit, continue through the roundabout until you reach your appropriate exit.

Use your right turn signal when exiting a roundabout, and keep a slow speed to avoid losing control or striking traffic islands.

Drivers waiting to enter read your signal to decide whether to go. Without it they wait, and the line of traffic builds.

Use your right turn signal to let others know you are exiting.

Do not accelerate until you are beyond the pedestrian crossing at a roundabout exit.

The exit crossing is the last thing between you and open road, and it is where people are waiting to cross.

Do not accelerate until you are beyond the pedestrian crossing at the exit.

Do not enter a roundabout if an emergency vehicle is approaching, and if one approaches while you are inside, exit immediately and pull to the right.

An emergency vehicle cannot weave through a circle full of cars. Emptying it is faster than making room inside it.

If an emergency vehicle approaches while you are in the roundabout, exit immediately and pull to the right.

A truck apron is the paved area on the inside of a roundabout for the rear wheels of large trucks, and it is not to be used by cars, SUVs, or pickups.

It looks like spare road and it is not. It is there so a trailer can get around the island without leaving the roundabout.

Truck aprons are not to be used by cars, SUVs or pickup trucks.

Give special consideration to trucks, trailers, and other large vehicles in a roundabout, because they may need more than one lane.

A trailer sweeps wider than the cab does. Sitting beside one in a circle is sitting in the path it is about to take.

They may need to utilize more than one lane within a roundabout.

Why are roundabouts statistically safer than traditional intersections?

They lower speeds and remove left turns across opposing traffic. The two most dangerous things at an ordinary intersection are speed and the left turn. A roundabout takes away both. Missouri Driver Guide, p.26: “Statistically roundabouts are safer than traditional intersections because they reduce fatal and injury crashes by reduction of speeds and removing left-turns in front of opposing traffic.”