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Right-of-way · medium

You are approaching a single-lane roundabout and another car is already travelling around it. Who has the right of way?

  1. A The car already in the circle — you wait for a gap before entering Correct
  2. B You do, because entering traffic always goes first at a roundabout
  3. C Whoever reaches the entry line first
  4. D Whoever is signalling to leave at the next exit

Why A is correct

Traffic already circulating in a roundabout keeps moving, and anyone entering must yield to it before crossing the painted line. This runs opposite to the habits most drivers built at four-way stops, and that difference is precisely what keeps a circle flowing: each car spends a few seconds inside and leaves, so yielding at the edge costs very little and queuing inside costs everything. Practically, you slow on approach, look left for circulating traffic, and enter only into a gap big enough that nobody has to brake. Signal right as you pass the exit before yours so drivers waiting at the next entry know they can pull out, and never stop inside the circle to wave someone in.

Why the other options are wrong

B. You do, because entering traffic always goes first at a roundabout
Entering traffic has the right of way at a signalised merge, not at a roundabout. Giving entry priority would force every car already inside to brake for every new arrival, which is how a circle stops moving altogether.
C. Whoever reaches the entry line first
First-come-first-served describes how an all-way stop works, not a roundabout. The painted yield line at each entry exists precisely to remove any argument about who arrived when.
D. Whoever is signalling to leave at the next exit
A signal tells you where someone plans to leave, not whether the space is yours to take. Circulating traffic still has priority, and plenty of drivers signal late or forget entirely.

On the road

A roundabout on a two-lane approach during school pickup: cars already inside glide past with nobody braking, while each entering driver waits for a genuine gap. The whole thing moves faster than the signalised junction it replaced, because nobody is waiting through a red light with an empty road.

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Every question on this page is written in our own words and is not copied from the handbook. Reviewed by Ethan Wen on 2026-10-18.