Roundabouts — Pennsylvania Permit Test
Roundabouts on the Pennsylvania permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Drivers entering a roundabout must yield to drivers already in the circle; traffic in the circle has the right of way.
Cars in the circle have nowhere to stop without being hit from behind.
CIRCULATING TRAFFIC HAS THE RIGHT- OF-WAY.
The most frequent cause of crashes at roundabouts is drivers who fail to yield before they enter.
It is one mistake, and it is the one the whole design depends on nobody making.
The most frequent cause of crashes at roundabouts is drivers who fail to yield before they enter.
Traffic in a roundabout moves counterclockwise, so every turn into and out of the circle is a right turn, which removes head-on, left-turn and right-angle crashes.
Taking away the left turn takes away the crash that comes with it.
Roundabouts and traffic circles are circular intersections where traffic moves counter-clockwise, so that all turns into and out of the circle are right turns.
Never stop inside a roundabout for an emergency vehicle: if you have not entered, stay out and pull to the side; if you are inside, exit first and then pull over.
A stopped car in the circle blocks every other car in it.
If in the roundabout, immediately exit the roundabout and pull to the side. NEVER STOP IN THE ROUNDABOUT.
Never overtake a cyclist who is acting as a vehicle in a roundabout.
There is no room to get past inside the circle, and the rider is entitled to the lane.
NEVER OVERTAKE A BICYCLIST ACTING AS A VEHICLE IN A ROUNDABOUT.
Use your right turn signal as you approach your exit from a roundabout, and be ready to yield to people in the crosswalk.
Drivers waiting to enter cannot guess which exit you are taking.
As you approach your exit, use you RIGHT TURN SIGNAL.
On the test
Who has the right of way at a roundabout?
Traffic already in the circle. Cars in the circle have nowhere to stop without being hit from behind. PA Driver's Manual, p.50: “CIRCULATING TRAFFIC HAS THE RIGHT- OF-WAY.”
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.
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against PA Driver's Manual, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.