Driving on roundabouts, incredible as it may seem, is still a mystery to many. We do not intend to publish the definitive guide. But we do want to give you some tips for getting in and out of them successfully. Which is no small thing!
There was a time when roundabouts began springing up all over our country. These junctions cause drivers the odd headache: which lane should we choose when entering? And when leaving? Who has right of way?
The creator of the urban roundabout was Eugène Hénard (1849-1923), a French architect of enormous influence in the field of urban planning. Although there were earlier designs in Britain, Hénard’s projects laid the foundations for gyratory traffic: the first Parisian examples, in 1907, were the square around the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Nation. In Spain, the first roundabout was the one in Palmanova, in Majorca (1976).
Fans of The Simpsons will remember the image of the family literally trapped on a London roundabout (incidentally, it was the English who invented it, as mentioned above). In reality, driving through a junction is much simpler than we imagine.
When a roundabout has several lanes, you need to choose the right lane depending on the exit you are going to take. Get into the right-hand lane if you are going to take one of the first exits; otherwise, position yourself in the inner lanes and gradually move the vehicle across lanes as the exit approaches. It is important that the manoeuvre does not disturb other drivers.
Who has right of way on an unsigned roundabout?
It should first be made clear that there are no specific signs announcing a roundabout: the closest to this, according to the DGT, is the S-200 (the roundabout
advance direction sign). There are others such as the R-402, which indicates the mandatory direction vehicles must follow, or the P-4, which warns of the danger of a gyratory
junction (which need not strictly be a roundabout).
Now, to answer the question about right of way, it should be pointed out that a roundabout is governed in the same way as a crossroads (although vehicles already on the roundabout have priority). Whereas, when arriving at the junction, priority will always go to the vehicle on our right.
The exceptions regarding traffic on roundabouts are large vehicles, emergency vehicles and groups of cyclists… to whom we must likewise give priority.
Is a “rotonda” the same as a “glorieta”?
In fact, yes. According to the DRAE dictionary, both terms define a square or small square that is usually circular. The 2003 General Traffic Regulations, for their part, define the “glorieta” as “a special type of junction characterised by the fact that the sections converging on it are connected by a ring in which rotary traffic is established around a central island”. As for “rotonda”, this would be the central design that allows the ring lanes to be laid out.