The Seattle P-I has posted a reader question asking who gets the right of way at traffic circles (also known as ’round abouts’ to our friends from the British Isles). Kirkland neighborhoods have many such traffic circles — Norkirk alone must have over three hundred. Even the casual observer will notice there seems to be great confusion among drivers as to how they should navigate these obstacles in the road.
Do I treat it like a stop sign?
Do I drive around it clock-wise or counter-clock-wise?
I wanna make a left turn… can I take the short cut?
Do I have to slow down, ’cause I think I can make it on two wheels?
These questions are not too far from the reality. In the eyes of many drivers, there seems to be real confusion as they approach our traffic circles.
So, here is the answer to the question, “Who has the right of way at traffic circles?” by Eric Widstrand, city traffic engineer with the Seattle Department of Transportation, as posted in the P-I:
“The first to arrive at an uncontrolled intersection has the right-of-way, or when two vehicles arrive at an uncontrolled intersection at about the same time, the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right,” Widstrand says. “This is true at all intersections with no stop signs or yield signs, regardless of whether or not there is a traffic circle, and regardless of the size of the intersecting streets.”
Safe driving.
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