I said that for years, but then if you think about it, we would be going
right back to stopping at a stop sign waiting for traffic to clear.

Make sure you have a recording camera in your car for those that know for sure "that just ain't so" like the OP. For a community of very smart people - there sure are a lot of D*** A****.

I know a situation that happened exactly as stated with the person exiting the traffic circle was T-Boned with serious injuries. The driver at fault was screaming they were suing - surprise; hope they had a good umbrella policy!

Simple - YIELD to those IN the roundabout regardless of lane and follow the posted picture ! How hard is this ???

P.S. Signal when exiting the Roundabout !!

There are clear instructions, based US Department of Transportation in The Villages phone book, the new homeowners’ guide you received when you got your Resident ID and in a flyer offered by Sumter County and available at all of the District Offices.

Don't think your pdf link is all that useful about how to navigate a RAB, more useful for anyone wanting to build one!:icon_wink:

Crosswalks nightmare
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTzWibBhSwg
At least our RAB's don't have crosswalks! Carnage!

You are 100% wrong and people who don’t follow the rules are dangerous to everyone on the road.

Hi Fred. Please use the default text color (black) for the body of your posts. I’m using the old original TOTV format with a light tan background. It is nearly impossible to read yellow text color. Thank you.

Notice the use of the directional in this video? The blue car going straight never put on the directional when exiting the RAB. Then, another scerio, the driver has the left directional on as he circulates the RAB in the inside lane then changes to the right directional as he exits the RAB. That second scenario is absolutely ridiculous!

U Turn
 

Is there a correct way to execute a U turn in a round-a-bout?

Such as use the inside lane and exit at the fourth exit?

Yeah, that is how we do it. We often take Morse north to 466 and then turn left to get to our dermatologist, dentist, Bealls, etc.

Once my wife and I were driving on Morse to Lake Sumter Landing but she missed the turn and crossed the bridge over Lake Sumter. We laughed about it, and then she just drove around the next roundabout like you suggested, went back across the bridge, and turned right into Lake Sumter landing.

1) Yield to both roundabout lanes before entering.

2) Never drive next to another vehicle in the roundabout.

All problems solved.

You will lose the suit. RAB rules are; if you’re exiting the first or second exit you should be in the outside lane, if exiting the third or fourth exit you should be in the inside lane, no changing lanes in RAB. Look up the DOT rules.

That is not the rule in The Villages.

Many people drive north on Morse in the left lane.
They enter the roundabout in the inside lane.
They go thru the roundabout in the inside lane and then cross the outside lane to
continue driving north on Morse.

Close, almost right. If going to the 2nd exit you can be in either lane as well.

This song should be the anthem for roundabout threads on TOTV.

"There must be some way out of here"
Said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief"
Bob Dylan

Or.

Round round, get around
I get around
Yeah
(Get around round round, I get around)
I get around
(Get around round ..................
Beach Boys.

This is getting funny. Apparently, if you are entering the circle to go straight and you are in the right lane, if a car already in the circle that might wish to make a right turn right after you enter, may do so and you are wrong if you hit him crossing in front of you. What crazy thinking came up with that kind of idea? ANyone crossing in front of me from the left lane to make a right turn and causes an accident better be able to explain that in court, because common sense says that you do not cross in front of anyone that's going straight in order for you to turn. I do not care what diagram is posted on a sign, that's just not common sense. Take the circle out and make it a four way stop. Right lane will go straight or turn right and left lane will go straight or turn left, period. I said we should have one lane in circles but folks thought that would make it too difficult to maneuver with two lanes entering and exiting the circle. No one is ever going to agree on how the circles must be traversed, so just get rid of them. Common sense says that the car in the right lane should always have the right of way when making a right turn. Going straight is still making a right turn from a circle and going in the left direction is still making a right turn from the circle. If you do not think so, try using your left turn signal when leaving the circle and see what happens. The only/ONLY way to make a left turn from these circles is if you traversed the circle going the wrong way (counter-clockwise). If you think you are right and attempt to make a turn in front of the car in the right lane that is going past your turn, then be prepared to visit the body shop (if you are lucky).

So wrong in so many ways, almost as if you are intentionally trying to misunderstand.

When you are at a four way stop and intend go go straight across do you proceed when there is someone already in the intersection? Of course not, that would cause a crash and you would be at fault. The same goes for the circle. If you are entering from the outside (right) lane you can't shoot right in, you yield to the traffic already in the circle. Do that and no one will be crossing in front of you to turn right from the inside lane.

When I am driving north on Morse and I encounter a circle what direction do I need to go to stay on Morse? Silly question of course, I go straight. If this is the circle with Pinellas and I want to take Pinellas then which way do I go? Obviously, I turn left since turning right would put me in front of the fire station on Moyer Loop. Left, right, and straight make perfect sense at a circle unless you are intentionally trying to be confused.

Having never seen an accident in a circle I can't begin to come up with the percentage of drivers who navigate them successfully. I've seen far more accidents at stop lights so perhaps we need to replace some lights with circles to improve safety.

Yes, that is exactly correct.

If I were the driver in the roundabout and you started to enter, I would give you a very long blast on my horn to hopefully keep you from entering the roundabout, and I would continue honking until I was safely out of the roundabout.

I drive slow going thru roundabouts, so if you ignore my honking and enter the roundabout, I will probably be able to easily avoid you, but I will keep honking until you are totally out of hearing range. This has happened to me a few times in the last seven years.

The poster seems to have a particular problem understanding the rule that both lanes should be clear before entering roundabout, in which case his scenario would not happen.

Please follow the law and the rules, no overtaking in a roundabout, and give right of way to those ahead of you in the roundabout.

Turn signals in RAB's
 

The points you make about the use of signals in RABs seem valid to me. Sometimes the best intentions can have unintended consequences, eh?

And if you use that inside lane and take the second exit, you by necessity need to move from the inside lane and across the outside lane. Many of the Village roundabouts have signage showing this option. However, the outside lane does not always have to exit. That is why you have to be alert, use your signals, and be prepared for the unexpected.

Because some people don't believe it is "common sense" makes no difference as traffic law says the inside lane vehicle has the right of way. It was that way in the European countries and other states I have driven in. If you understand the law, you shouldn't have any problems safely negotiating the RB. I doubt that a "common sense" belief will stand in court.
Think about it, during heavy traffic how would the inside lane vehicle exit for their turn if they didn't have the right of way? You definitely don't want to stop in inside lane waiting for a break in the outside lane traffic so you can make your exit, traffic would be backed up forever, not to mention a great risk of being rear ended. A vehicle might end up making numerous circles around the RB waiting for a break to make their turn. There is no "common sense" in that. The inside lane having the right of way is "common sense".

Based on the comments in this thread, it is nice to see that the vast, vast majority of us know how to drive through roundabouts properly.

Some newcomers may think the rules for driving in a roundabout do not make sense to them, and that's OK for the time being. Like the OP, they can complain all they want but, if they want to survive, they will eventually accept the rules as they are.

I am not sure which law you are referring too, but no lane has priority in the roundabout, at least in Europe and UK. and to the best of my knowledge, the US as well.
Vehicles in the roundabout definitely have priority over vehicles entering a roundabout.
If any vehicle has to give way to another in the roundabout to exit, then one, or both, are in the wrong lane.
A roundabout should be a continuous flow.

That is correct. The scenario you stated is exactly the reason why the person entering the RAB should yield to any car in the RAB. Stay clear of that car and there will not be a collision as he exits the RAB in front of you. Do not ever drive next to another car in the RAB. That is what causes the problems.

I had the same thought as I read your post. There does seem to be more collisions at intersections that have traffic lights. I have seen only one RAB accident and that wasn't actually in the RAB. The accident occurred just as a vehicle exited the RAB. Someone came barreling down Morse and did not YIELD to the traffic and caused the collision.

Funny you say a RAB has to "be a continuous flow". I often am in awe of watching how the flow of traffic almost seems like beautiful choreography when everyone is navigating the RAB correctly which is usually 99% of the time. It is like watching The Villages Golf Cart precision Drill Team in action.

Yes, there is that 1% when there are close calls in a RAB but, as I have already said, I have yet to see an accident in a RAB. I have seen one woman driving in the RAB in the wrong direction one time and even that did not end in a collision. Just lots of folks getting out of her way and directing her to get out of the RAB. I'll bet she won't do that again!

Actually, if you are taking the second exit from the inside lane, there should be no one to cut across. If someone is there, they are either wrong for entering with you in the outside lane with the intention of taking the third exit, or are wrong because they entered the RB from your first exit before you passed by.

Obviously, my post was misunderstood. If you entered at a different street and want to go straight and I am clear to enter (to make it easier, at the exact same time or slightly after), he is in the center lane and I am in the right lane wishing to exit the second exit (going straight), that means I am passing the first exit. If he is next to me and wishing to turn right, then he must wait until I am pass him. If he does not, HE is causing the accident. There is no sign that says I must stop to let him turn in front of me. I do not care what the diagrams say, YOU are turning right off of a circle regardless of exit. You must use your RIGHT turn signal. You are NOT using your left turn signal, therefore you are going right. You can NOT make a straight in a circle or you will leave the road and travel across the landscaping. Yes, I understand what you are saying, but go ahead and be right and end up in the body shop or hospital. Common sense says you yield to the person on the right that is going straight pass you, and you never cross in front of another car unless it is stopped. C'mon man! Personally, I drive defensively because I know that no one else cares what other cars are on the road and drive accordingly. My car lets me know when something is in my blind spots on either side of the car. By the way, those are yield signs at the entrance to the circles, so please don't sit there until the circle is empty before proceeding. Backing up cars in a line on the road is not safe either. I certainly hope that next time you cross in front of someone when making a turn, your spouse is not in the passenger seat, because it is not you that may suffer from "being right."

If I am understanding you correctly, it sounds like you both proceeded at the same time. You wanted to go straight thru, the other wanted to make a right turn crossing over your path.

A person going straight thru does not have the automatic right of way. If you both arrived at the circle at the same time, the person farthest to the right goes first. This is standard law when two people arrive at an intersection at the same time.

roundabouts
 

could you imagine a 4 way stop at each roundabout...

I never knew this rule of the RABs. I don't ever enter a RAB at the same time as another vehicle. I hang back and let them go first. Maybe that is not the correct thing to do but I feel safer that way.

You and I see it the same way. That is the definition of yielding. You allow others to go first while crossing your path. In the rare event two people arrive at the intersection the same time, the person farthest to the right goes first. Doesn't happen often.

It looks like someone believes you can get in the right (outside) lane in a round-a-bout and go around and around and around.
It also looks like someone believes you can change lanes while in a round-a-bout.
WRONG and WRONG

If a vehicle is in the center lane and signals to exit, a vehicle in the outside lane must yield to the exiting vehicle, that is what the law says. Supposed common sense has no bearing on this. Situational awareness, you pay attention to the other vehicles around you anticipating their actions and obey the law.

If the vehicle in the inside lane exits crossing the outside lane to the exit, as the law stipulates, how is it in the wrong lane?

Priority, right of way, basically the same thing. The inside lane vehicle has priority/right of way over vehicles in the outside lane to make their exit.

I think some do not fully understand what yield means. It is exactly as you have said. It is the law to allow a vehicle to go first if they are crossing your path. I just do not understand why people can't wait for the driver to cross. It only takes a few seconds. Like most said, there aren't many accidents in the roundabouts. Sounds like a lot of pent up road rage.

Not necessarily, many RBs have double lane exit.