Speed limits
Modern roundabouts are built to hold the speed of every vehicle inside them to what level?
- 30 mph or less. Correct answer
- 25 mph or less.
- Whatever speed limit is posted on the road leading into the roundabout.
Why
A roundabout controls speed with its shape rather than with a sign. The circle is small and the entrances are curved, so a vehicle has to bend its path to get in, and the manual says the design keeps every vehicle at 30 mph or less inside the circle. Low speed is one of the three principles the manual uses to set the modern roundabout apart, next to yield-at-entry and enough deflection of the entering vehicle. That is why the speed on the approach road does not carry over into the circle. 25 mph is a real New York number, but it is the default limit in New York City, not the roundabout design speed. Inside the circle it is the geometry that holds you to 30 or less, not a number on a post.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is 30 mph or less.
More on speed limits
- You speed through a marked work zone at a time when no workers or work vehicles are there. What happens to the fine if you are ticketed?
- Under New York's general rule, what is the highest speed you may drive on a road where no speed limit sign is posted?
- You are driving on a street in New York City and see no speed limit sign. What speed limit applies?
- Fog has settled over an expressway with a posted limit of 55 mph. You keep driving at 50 mph. Can a police officer give you a speeding ticket?