Right-of-way and intersections
What should you do as you approach a roundabout and prepare to enter it?
- Slow down, yield to all traffic already in the roundabout, and enter to the right when there is a big enough gap. Correct answer
- Come to a complete stop at the entrance, even if the roundabout is empty.
- Enter to the left and travel clockwise around the central island.
Why
Traffic inside a roundabout always has priority. The handbook's sequence is: slow down as you approach, yield to everything already circulating, and enter heading to the right when the gap is large enough to merge safely. You then travel counterclockwise around the central island without stopping or passing, signal when you change lanes or exit, and if you miss your exit you simply continue around until you reach it again. Yielding is not the same as stopping: the handbook asks you to slow and give way, not to stop when nobody is circulating. Entering to the left and going clockwise would send you head-on into circulating traffic. In a multilane roundabout, choose your entry lane before entering, based on where you plan to exit.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Slow down, yield to all traffic already in the roundabout, and enter to the right when there is a big enough gap.
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Right-of-Way Rules: Who Goes First? › Roundabouts, page 40
- Section 14. Glossary › Yield, page 84
The rule behind this one
Right of way in California: who goes first goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on right-of-way and intersections
- An ambulance with its siren and red lights on is coming up behind you while you are in the middle of an intersection. What should you do?
- A pedestrian with a white cane is waiting at the corner as you approach the intersection. Which of these is correct?
- Two vehicles meet on a steep, narrow mountain road where neither can pass. Which vehicle must back up?
- You are on a road that ends at a T intersection with no STOP or YIELD signs. Who has the right-of-way?