Roundabouts — Virginia Permit Test
Roundabouts on the Virginia permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Traffic entering a roundabout must yield to people walking and to vehicles already in the circle, and everyone travels counterclockwise once inside.
Cars already in the circle have no way to stop without being hit from behind.
Entering traffic must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, and to traffic already in the circle.
Each road approaching a roundabout is marked with a yield sign, and may also have a yield line painted across the pavement.
The sign and the line both say the same thing, so the rule is hard to miss.
Each road approaching the roundabout is marked with a yield sign and may also have yield line markings on the pavement.
If you plan to turn left at a two-lane roundabout, stay to the left as you enter; to turn right, stay to the right.
Choosing your lane before you enter saves crossing somebody else's path inside the circle.
If you plan to turn right, stay to the right as you enter the roundabout. If you plan to go straight, you may stay in either lane (if it is a dual lane circular intersection). If you plan to turn left, stay to the left as you enter the roundabout.
Inside a roundabout, stay in your lane until you are ready to exit, and use your right turn signal to show where you are going.
Drivers beside you cannot guess your exit, and inside the circle there is no room to be surprised.
While inside the roundabout, stay in your lane until you are ready to exit. Use your vehicle's right turn signal to let drivers around you know what you want to do.
On the test
Who must yield at a roundabout?
Traffic entering the circle. Cars already in the circle have no way to stop without being hit from behind. Virginia Driver's Manual, p.16: “Entering traffic must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, and to traffic already in the circle.”
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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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Virginia Driver's Manual, published by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.