[MediocreButArrogant]

There's a multilane roundabout in Canyon Pointe shopping center and I'm curious about what people think the rules are for driving in a multilane roundabout (one where there is an inside and outside lane in the circle, and each entry and exit is also two lanes). I've seen a lot of people driving incorrectly in the circle, and the problem is, even if you know the rules, you have to break them, or risk having one of these idiots slam into you. So I'm curious what people think the answers to these questions are:

1) Are you allowed to change lanes while inside the circle, from the outside circle to the inside, or vice-versa?

2) Are you allowed to make turns (exit the circle) from the inside circle? If you answered no to #1, then you have to answer yes to this one.

3) Which of the following maneuvers are allowed when entering the roundabout from the right lane: right turn, straight-thru, left-turn, U-turn?

4) Same question, but when entering from the left lane.

5) When exiting the roundabout, are there any rules on which lane you must utilize when exiting?

6) You are in the outside lane in the circle, a car in the inside lane is slightly ahead of you and signals he wants to exit. Who has the right of way?

[Buzz123]

It takes a while to get used to those round abouts. I think it's a stupid idea but others like them. They were talking about putting them all over town. Apparently they don't prevent accidents, but instead of head on or rear end accidents, they mostly create side crashes which they say result in fewer fatalities.

People in this country seem to have forgotten that solid line means do not cross. Broken line means changing lanes is OK. Notice that on the freeways nobody pays any attention to that even though it's a big fine to cross the solid white line like the ones you see running on way to long in the entrance lanes.

Roundabouts have two lanes with a broken line so you can change lanes. Sometimes you have to to get where you need to go. If you look closer next time you'll see that the intersecting streets have two lanes also. The outside lane has to exit, while the inside lane can either exit (in your own lane) or keep going to the next exit. The yield signs are what's important to watch for. If someone is coming in your lane you have to stop when you have the yield sign.

At least that's the way I see those nasty roundabouts. Actually nobody ever tried to explain them, they just forced them on us and told us how wonderful they were. That's NDOT for you. Really stupid people IMO.

[rightonbro]

That particular roundabout drives me nuts. It doesn't feel wide enough to be two lanes, even though it's supposed to be, and it's not dotted for two lanes either.

Also, I hate getting into that shopping center from Charleston - there's always people running the left turn arrow into the center, and then there's a giant backup in the left lane because everyone's trying to get into the Best Buy/Borders/Office Depot area.

I wonder what the accident rate is in that shopping center compared to the national average.

[olecapt]

The difficulty with roundabouts in the US is there are too few and differently implemented. I have familiarity with them in Europe. Particularly in England. The new town of Milton Keynes for instance has no stop signs and virtuall no lights. All major intersections are traffic circles. It works very well. You can go miles without ever doing more than slowing down a bit around the circle.

In general in a traffic circle you drive normally. Same rules getting on one as any merge situation...same rules getting off one.

My BIL and sister will use them to get straight on which exit they need. They go around the inner track while she figures out which exit to take. Then they move to the outer to make the exit. Some of these are big by the way perhaps a thousand yards in circumference.

It is a very nice system that is simply not implented well in the States. Beats the hell out of stop signs.

[tortoise]

Mesquite might even have roundabouts someday . . NDOT is recommending them for the Walmart exit (http://www.mesquitelocalnews.com/viewnews.php?newsid=3329&id=2 - broken link).

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by olecapt

In general in a traffic circle you drive normally. Same rules getting on one as any merge situation...same rules getting off one.

My BIL and sister will use them to get straight on which exit they need. They go around the inner track while she figures out which exit to take. Then they move to the outer to make the exit. Some of these are big by the way perhaps a thousand yards in circumference.

Traffic circles and multilane roundabouts are not the same thing. Compared to a traffic circle, multi-lane roundabouts:

1) Are much smaller in diameter
2) Allow exits from either lane of the circle (only outer lane traffic may exit in a traffic circle)
3) Typically do not allow lane changes in the circle (traffic circles allow, and may actually require lane changes in the circle)
4) Require the driver to make a lane choice upon entering dependent on their final exit

You can't follow the same rules for a multi-lane roundabout that you use in a traffic circle.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

Traffic circles and multilane roundabouts are not the same thing. Compared to a traffic circle, multi-lane roundabouts:

1) Are much smaller in diameter
2) Allow exits from either lane of the circle (only outer lane traffic may exit in a traffic circle)
3) Typically do not allow lane changes in the circle (traffic circles allow, and may actually require lane changes in the circle)
4) Require the driver to make a lane choice upon entering dependent on their final exit

You can't follow the same rules for a multi-lane roundabout that you use in a traffic circle.

Nah. Virtually all definitions of "roundabout" lead to traffic circle or rotary which leads to traffic circle.

I will agree their are some roundabouts that have been warped into some strange version. ie the ones in Summerlin. Those were I think always too small and that ended up with the new changes. They work reasonably well as long as you understand them. But blind entry you are going to end up going somewhere you did not intend.

Note though that the one at the eastern (northern?) end is not bad.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Here are the Nevada rules about driving in a roundabout:

Driving in a Roundabout

and

http://www.dmvnv.com/pdfforms/dlbook.pdf#page=34

The rule that most seem to not know is that the inside lane has right of way over everyone. That means when they signal to exit the roundabout, the outside lane should yield to them. It never happens - if anything, drivers in the outside lane speed up when they see it to prevent the other driver from making their exit. That's why I often break the rule about changing lanes in a roundabout. Sorry Buzz123, but changing lanes in a roundabout is illegal. That said, I will sometimes straddle the (invisible) line if I am in the inside lane and going to exit, to prevent someone from trying to pass me and prevent my turn.

Yesterday while driving to Lowes in Canyon Pointe I saw an elderly driver go bombing into the roundabout without looking. He nearly got creamed by a full-size SUV that was in the outside lane. I'm not sure the elderly driver even knew he did anything wrong, he probably thought he was in his golf cart on a Summerlin street.

Answer are:

1) No lane changes allowed while in roundabout
2) Turns are allowed from the inside lane (but be careful)
3) On entry, right lane can turn right or go straight
4) On entry, left lane can go straight, turn left, or make a U-turn
5) Outside lane must use right lane on exit, inside lane must use left lane on exit
6) Inside lane has right of way over all other traffic, outside lane has right of way over entering traffic

Most important rule is to avoid a collision, even if it means breaking one of the other rules.

[olecapt]

Actually the ones in Summerlin are both single lane roundabouts with dedicated rigth turn lanes. The right turn lanes never get into the roundabout itself. The one at the library is a true two laner...but it does not appear to have the lane restrictions going in. Have to look at it closely the next time I use it.

Check out the wikipedia page. More variations on this theme than I would have imagined.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Actually the ones in Summerlin are both single lane roundabouts with dedicated rigth turn lanes. The right turn lanes never get into the roundabout itself. The one at the library is a true two laner...but it does not appear to have the lane restrictions going in. Have to look at it closely the next time I use it.

No need to drive there, you can get a good view of it with Google Maps and Google Street View.

summerlin library, las vegas, nv - Google Maps (http://tinyurl.com/y9dtwb3 - broken link)

The entry is three lanes, but since the right lane is a dedicated right turn lane, I think you can follow the rules for a two lane roundabout, and pretend like the right lane on exit and entry isn't there.