I need help in understanding. No where is this diagram are you switching lanes to exit from the inside lane. All exits are two lanes wide.

I may be putting too fine a point on it, but if you are in the inside lane, there is no way you can enter either gate, resident or visitor, without driving over the outside lane.

All exits are not two lanes. The exit from the Morse circle going east to Paige is a single lane.

Exits leading onto single lane roads (one lane in each direction) are single lane exits.

There are so many issues involved with driving roundabouts, that I've seen, growing up here.

My husband was side swiped because he was in the left lane taking the 2nd exit when someone in the right lane tried to cross over into the left lane AT the 2nd exit. With Florida being a no-fault state, he was issued a ticket.

Also, coming out of the roundabout when there's a bypass lane, such as on Buena Vista by Sumter Landing and Stillwater. I can't count how many times I've been in the left lane and someone coming out of the bypass lane has tried to merge into my lane. Not looking, no turn signal, and not slowing down. Luckily, I don't trust ANYONE on the road, and I always double check every car coming out of the bypass. Everytime, I hit my horn and my brakes, but they never stop. If I had to count, probably about 5 times this has happened. ALWAYS check your blind spots!!!!

Also, again, people take them WAY too fast. I noticed someone saying they take the right lane at 35MPH. That's too fast. I believe the suggested speed is 25MPH, correct me if I'm wrong, and that still can be too fast if you're not paying attention.

I wish everyone took these roundabouts more seriously than they do, and I love the brochure that they give out and you linked! It really helps everyone learn, correctly. When my husband was side-swiped, he received one, along with the other driver, and we went home to read it to see how that could've been avoided.

Best way to go into, assume no one knows how to drive xD

Exactly what was your husband ticketed for? I hope he fought it.

I wrote "in the diagram" - never said all roundabouts. Here we go again.

I do not want to argue, so this is my last post on this particular subjet.

From the Florida Driver Handbook, section 5.17:

"Roundabouts are circular intersections with no traffic signal which improve traffic flow and reduce traffic crashes. Roundabouts slow vehicle speed, give drivers more time to judge and react to other vehicles or pedestrians. Drivers entering the roundabout must yield to traffic already in the circle and are directed in one-way, counterclockwise direction. For multi-lane roundabouts, stay in the left lane to turn left and the right lane to turn right, and all lanes to go through, unless otherwise directed by signs or pavement markings. Stay in your lane within the roundabout and use your right turn signal to indicate your intention to exit. Prior to entering or exiting the roundabout, drivers must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks. Bicyclists may take the lane in the roundabout, or use the sidewalk." (red added to text for emphasis)

Part of the problem is that the roundabouts throughout the Villages are not consistent which leads to a lot of confusion. Some of the rondouabouts force the inside lane to the outside lane at the 2nd exit for the north/south direction with yellow striping, while others have 2 lanes the entire way around. Some have single lane exits. This does not change the fact that government entities have published instructions NOT to change lanes in roundabouts.

Exactly. That's why...with proper precautions...it makes no difference which lane you exit to.

I don't remember, honestly. I think it was "improper use of traffic circle" or something like that. It was years ago.
The cop said that since it was a no fault state, and the other driver was being uncooperative, they were both issued a ticket.

The same thing happened when we lived in Oregon. I saw an elderly lady driving down the wrong way down a busy street. I reported her and her license plate number to DMV, and they said too bad, they could not do anything without proof. Looking back, they were right. So we must watch out for anybody and everybody else.

Talk about blaming the victim.

I personally love the roundabouts. Yield and keep driving, drive speed limit or less and stay staggered. Also, if you notice the roundabout road signs closer... the right/outside lane always takes the first or second right turn exits and the left/inside lanes always take the second and third exits. There are a few roundabouts that do not have four total entrance/exits. And oh, roundabouts do not have stop signs.

How to Navigate Roundabouts
 

You’re confusing us with the facts. Please keep on topic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As someone who's only visited TV so far and hasn't yet purchased a home, I have to say these traffic circles are incredibly confusing. I slow down significantly because they disorient me and I get nervous about being stuck in the wrong lane. If I'm in the right lane, and making a 3/4 turn, I'm in the wrong lane. If I'm in the left lane, and making a 1/4 turn, I'm in the wrong lane. But I'm supposed to keep up with the speed of traffic so if there's someone behind me, I worry they'll get mad if I slow down, mad if I'm in the wrong lane, mad if I get disoriented and pull over and stop because I just can't deal with that kind of stress when I'm just trying to get across the darned street.

Plus it's clear these traffic circles are dangerous, which is why there are so many threads here with so many posters saying they're dangerous. Why not ditch the circles and put in normal lanes with stop lights and turn lights, so there's absolutely no confusion whatsoever? You get in line, stop, wait til the light says you can go, then go. And everyone else stops to let you do so.

They are intimidating, at first, to anyone not used to them. But most quickly get used to them. It helps to get and read the pamphlet that is in the original post of this thread. As far as I know, the only place this pamphlet is handed it is at the monthly new villager orientation (don't know the official name) but nobody is required to attend and most of the time, by the time you attend, you have been subjected to navigating the roundabouts many times. The roundabouts are there to improve traffic flow, not impede it. You should drive defensively around here, not just in the roundabouts, but everywhere. I can't count how many times I've seen someone approach a stop at a street or drive that intersects one that I am driving down. They stop, look, clearly see me approaching (I drive a full size pickup truck), and then proceed to pull out in front of me anyway. It seems many spent their previous lives always in a big old hurry and can't seem to adjust to not being in a hurry. That goes for golf carts too. The speed limit is 20mph. Mine is adjusted so that it can go a little above that when needed but can at least keep up the speed limit. Still, there are always though that will drive right up to your bumper and pass you at the first opportunity and sometimes even at high risk to oncoming traffic. Lots of beautiful landscaping and flowers around here but there are always a few that refuse to stop and smell them now and then.

The trick is to go to the inside lane and keep going around until you are the only one in the circle and then exit. I learned this trick on the merry go round years ago.

And don't forget, it's not NASCAR, always turn right...

:popcorn:

LMAO

Another winner from you!

Can't wait for National Backwards Day...........January 31, 2019.

Clockwise in the roundabouts.

That's correct.

Yes, that would be a terrible thing to do, even though we have had it happen to us on several occasions.

When you become a senior citizen, you will stop worrying about other people being mad at you.

Then don't live in TV. We like our roundabouts.

Please, don't ever, ever do that. You might get hurt. Somebody else might get hurt. Please don't stop in a roundabout. Better to keep going, even if you're in the wrong lane, till you can pull off onto an exit.


People coming round in a roundabout can't see you and might rear-end you if they come upon you stopped. Or it could cause a multiple accident. You would be found at fault for any of that.


Just think of the roundabout as a four lane intersection. If you're going straight, either lane. If you're going right, outside lane. If you're "turning left,"you would be in the left lane at an intersection. That's what cleared it up for me, a description by some clear-minded "teacher" on this forum seven years ago. To whom I am so grateful, although I can't remember his name.

no, no, no...………………….!
Oh wait, you said you were just a visitor.....did you read the signs at the entrance to the roundabout? I thought so.

You laugh, but Sweden, the country that makes Saabs, decided that they should change their left-hand driving to right-hand driving. Their method was: name a date and do it.


"Finally, everything was ready. At 4:50 a.m. on September 3, 1967, as crowds of people gathered to watch, all vehicles on the road were instructed to come to a halt. They were then directed to move carefully from the left side of the road to the right, and wait. At the stroke of 5:00, following a radio countdown, an announcement was made — “Sweden now has right-hand driving” — and traffic was allowed to resume. Time Magazine called the event “a brief but monumental traffic jam.”


Some people think the real reason for this was a car manufacturer was selling so many cars to the US.

In seven years I had only seen one time a car exit at the first exit from the left lane of a traffic circle. Yesterday I saw it twice right in front of me. First time I'm on Stillwater eastbound in the left lane getting ready to enter the roundabout at Morse to go north across the bridge. There is a car in front of me and one to the right of me, as I move ahead both cars in front of me exit at the first exit, unbelievable.

Later yesteray I'm on El Camino Real northbound and come to the roundabout at Buena Vista in front The Savannah Center. Again there are two cars, one in the left lane and one in the right lane just ahead of me in the right lane, since I plan to go north on BV. Again, both cars in front of me exit at the first exit northbound on BV, had I been going straight I would of T-boned the car in the left lane or if the car in front of me had been going straight, either one of us would of hit that car in the left lane.

If this wasn't enough, at the Morse roundabout, the really busy one just before 441, I see something I will probably never see again. I'm entering from Paige Place using the right lane to go halfway to El Camino Real. Two cars are in front of me in the outside lane, and the first car comes to a complete stop in the traffic circle. After a couple of seconds the car begins to move and then a car that is to my left in the inside lane which has no one in front of them, speeds around and turns right at the El Camino exit about 5' in front of me. All this happens because this uniformed driver stops in the circle and throws eveything out of sync. The guy on the inside lane probably thought he was totally in the right, but should of seen there was a car stopped and to have used caution in his exit, which he didn't display.

I'm not presently visiting. I've BEEN a visitor. Several years ago, and a couple of years before that. Had a vacation rental each time. We're considering moving there, and have a lifestyle visit coming up in a couple of months. I've mentioned this a few times already.

I don't know what my being a visitor has to do with reading the signs. I don't know what you "thought."

I'm looking at the PDF file. At the very first graphic, that says "CAUTION" on the upper right of the graphic, and reminding you not to use the right-hand lane to make a left turn through the roundabout. That's all well and good. But let's call these things what they are, because the whole left and right designation is confusing. There's a north/south/east/west exit. There's an INNER lane, and there's an OUTER lane, and there are ENTRIES, and there are EXITS. So. Using that graphic. I'm coming from the south, heading north. I'm enter via the inner lane, just like it shows in the graphic.

The person coming in from the EASTERN lane, is heading west. He's coming in via the OUTER lane. I enter the circle shortly before he does; but I'm not yet in clear view of him, because I haven't rounded the circle toward the eastern exit yet. We both get to the spot that's right there on the graphic where the two cars collide. Each of us is going "across" the circle; one from south to north, one from east to west. We are each allowed to use our choice of inner or outer lane, according to this graphic. Who has the right of way and who gets stuck paying who's hospital bill?

That's really what I want to know.

I’ve never encountered a roundabout in TV where I could not see traffic coming toward me from my left or traffic approaching it to my right. In your scenario, the vehicle entering going east that entered after you and failed to yield to anyone in either lane is at fault. This is one of the more common errors I see. Some drivers think that it is OK to enter into the outside lane if the only vehicle in the roundabout is in the inner lane. I think this is a result of those that had experience with roundabouts in other states think they can apply the same rules here. Not necessarily true.

If I'm in the right lane, and making a 3/4 turn, I'm in the wrong lane.

It can be confusing as in this example. Is it better to take the blue path or red path to go east on 44A? Note that the left lane is marked as only turning left yet I want to continue straight.

This is exactly why the "turn left" thing is pointless and meaningless. It's a circle. There is no left and right. When you get to the point where you want to exit, you will be turning RIGHT. You will never actually be taking a left, anywhere. It is a one-way circle, around to the right (counter-clockwise), and exiting to the right. The only "left" that happens, is when you enter the circle. The circle itself will always be on the left of the lane that enters the circle.

This is one of the main reasons why the whole thing is confusing. Words matter.

Left and right refer to the direction you will be traveling out of the circle in relationship to the direction entering. Just like any other intersection. Literally, just like any other intersection. I find the roundabouts simple to understand and believe that those that don't may simply be stuck on "this is new".

Now to your question. My best understanding is - exiting has the right of way. That way, no one is forced to stop while in the circle. I assume everyone is exiting at the next exit, and never place myself next to another car.

I wish everyone new could get your explanation. When someone on this forum provided this explanation to me 7 years ago, it all clicked. Avoid being too literal--Imagine an intersection, and everything will make sense.

I thought you were/are confused because you didn't read the signs. If you had you would not be confused.
BTW round a bouts are here to stay.

///

Clueless or Don't Care
 

Some lady got into the outside lane where it was to turn right only, a solid line and only one lane to go around from where we were. She then proceeded to cross over the solid line to go around the circle. I was in the inside lane to go around the complete circle and honked. Because gee...she almost HIT ME. :what: She had NO IDEA and proceeded to curse at me, give me the finger and tell me I was wrong for being in the inside lane. Ummm....NO. "If you intend to exit the roundabout more than halfway around, use the LEFT-HAND lane"
There was only ONE lane going around where we were. I told her to go back and look but it wouldn't matter. Clueless is clueless.
It's one thing if a person is right. I can understand being defensive, but when you are WRONG you are WRONG.
:boom::spoken:

We came down for a LSV last month and this was the first time I had ever encountered roundabouts. Love them! As an earlier poster explained; Exiting to right of entry point use right lane. Going straight use either lane but I prefer left. Exiting left or U-Turn use left lane. Very efficient design to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

Let it rest..........

At home to survive I had to be street wise.
Down here I just need to be circle wise.

We do the same thing.

You are pretty smart for a young dude!

Just today....a car in the left lane excited the circle to the right crossing in front of us at LSL on Morse. Good thing we were being cautious!!!