Traffic Circles or Roundabouts? Which is it?
Things to remember when entering a roundabout or traffic circle:
- The car already on the roundabout or in the circle has the right of way.
- If you are driving up to the roundabout please slow down and look to see if any cars are already on the roundabout as they have right of way. Do NOT drive out in front of them.
- If you are driving around the roundabout do NOT slow down or stop if you see someone pulling up to the roundabout. YOU have right of way and they should slow down and wait for you.
- Try NOT to change lanes while on the roundabout or just coming off it. If you need to change lanes do so AFTER you have completely left the roundabout. Remember, you are not the only person using the roundabout - especially if it has 2 lanes.
- When in doubt, the cars coming FROM THE LEFT have the right of way.
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 Roundabouts or traffic circles have been part of the transportation system in the United States since 1905. The original designs enabled high-speed merging and weaving of vehicles, giving priority to entering vehicles and facilitating high-speed entries. High crash experience and congestion in the circles led to traffic circles falling out of favor in America after the mid-1950s.
The modern roundabout or traffic circle was developed in the United Kingdom to rectify problems associated with these traffic circles. In 1966, the United Kingdom adopted the mandatory “give-way” rule at all circular intersections, which required entering traffic to give way, or yield, to circulating traffic. This rule prevented circular intersections from locking up. Traffic circles provide control to traffic because they physically require motorists to slow down in order to maneuver around them.
These changes improved the safety characteristics of the circular intersections by reducing the number and particularly the severity of collisions. Thus, the resultant modern traffic circle or roundabout is significantly different from the old-style traffic circle both in how it operates and in how it is designed.
Cities and even our own UAMS campus are finding traffic circles beneficial. Neighborhoods with heavy street traffic have installed traffic circles to control the flow of traffic without stopping it. Traffic circles reduce the number of angle and turning crashes. Traffic circles are effective at lowering vehicle speeds in their immediate vicinity.
The UAMS roundabout on Hooper Drive is designed to keep traffic moving and this is why we do not have stop signs. Vehicles on the roundabout (within the circle) have the right-of-way, all vehicles entering the roundabout are required to yield. UAMS has not had an accident in the roundabout since it opened for service. We have had some near misses and this is why it is so important we all know the driving procedures in a roundabout.
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