Roundabout ahead sign
There is a roundabout just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way to vehicles already on it.
- Group
- Warning signs
- The group at a distance
- Diamond, standing on one point, with no exceptions in this group. Yellow ground, black symbol.
- Does this group carry the law
- Not enforceable on its own. It changes nothing about right of way.
- 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.
- Ease off well before the roundabout so you arrive at a speed you can stop from.
- Choose your lane and your signal based on the exit you want, before you reach the give way line.
- Look right at the circulating traffic while you are still moving, so you can join a gap rather than stopping needlessly.
Where you see it
A few hundred metres before a roundabout on higher speed roads, and on the approach to roundabouts hidden by a crest, a bend or landscaping.
Across the states and territories
The warning is national. What changes is the roundabout it warns about: multi lane roundabouts with lane arrows are common on suburban arterials in Perth, Brisbane and Canberra, while a single lane country roundabout needs none of that reading.
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.
- Roundabout aheadthis pageRoundabout
This is the warning on the approach. The circular version at the give way line is the one carrying the rule.
Roundabout: Drive around the roundabout to the left of the central island and give way to any vehicle already in it.
- Roundabout aheadthis pageGive way ahead
Both prepare you to give way, but the roundabout version tells you the geometry as well as the duty.
Give way ahead: There is a give way sign just ahead, so slow down and get ready to give way.
How the knowledge tests use it
It is used to test lane choice and signalling, which are decided on the approach rather than inside the roundabout.
A real question from the sign deckWhat does this sign mean?
The yellow diamond makes this a warning, so the roundabout itself is still ahead. It gives you time to slow and pick your exit.
State and territory driver handbooks, warning signs
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 warning signs
Yellow diamond with a black symbol.