Roundabout sign
Drive around the roundabout to the left of the central island and give way to any vehicle already in it.
- Group
- Regulatory signs
- The group at a distance
- Mostly round, or a rectangular plate. Stop is the one octagon in the whole group and give way the one triangle. Usually white with a red ring or bar and a black legend. A few, like the shared path sign, are white on blue.
- Does this group carry the law
- Enforceable. Disobeying one is an offence in itself.
- In the sign deck
- 3 questions ask about this sign
What to do when you see it
In the order you do it, from the moment the sign comes into view.
- Slow on the approach and pick your lane before you get there, based on the exit you want.
- Signal right if you are going right or turning back, left if you are taking the first exit, and nothing on the approach if you are going straight through.
- Give way to any vehicle already on the roundabout.
- Signal left before you leave, once you have passed the exit before yours, and cancel it after you are out.
Where you see it
At the intersection itself, mounted on the splitter island or beside the give way line, often with a lane arrangement plate showing which lane serves which exit.
Across the states and territories
The give way rule is the same in every state and territory: give way to anything already in the roundabout, not to the right. Lane arrow plates and multi lane markings vary in style between jurisdictions, so read the plate at the roundabout in front of you rather than the one you are used to.
Tell it apart from these
Both signs at the same size, next to each other, with the one line that separates them. These are the pairs people mix up under time pressure.
- Roundaboutthis pageRoundabout ahead
The yellow diamond is a warning some distance back. The circular sign is at the roundabout itself and carries the give way rule.
Roundabout ahead: There is a roundabout just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way to vehicles already on it.
- Roundaboutthis pageGive way
A plain give way sign asks you to give way to everything on the road you are entering. At a roundabout the duty is narrower and specific to vehicles already circulating.
Give way: Slow down and be ready to stop so you can give way to any traffic or pedestrians already there.
How the knowledge tests use it
Signalling is the part that catches people out, particularly the left signal on exit, which is required whenever it is practicable to give it.
A real question from the sign deckWhat does this sign mean?
The blue disc with three curved arrows marks the roundabout itself. In Australia you always travel clockwise around it, keeping the central island on your right.
Australian Road Rules rule 114, giving way at a roundabout
Try it in a question
The sign tests draw the artwork above the question and ask what it means, which is closer to the way you meet a sign on the road than reading a page about it. They are original questions written for this site rather than an agency's published bank.
More regulatory signs
Mostly white with red or black, and usually round or rectangular.