Traffic Circles - Suzuki Bassonia

How to maneuver a traffic circle?

Bassonia Webmaster 2019-04-10 Source: Suzuki Auto South Africa

So let’s say you approach a traffic circle and there is a vehicle entering to your right, you let them pass. Then another two vehicles show up right behind the first one - you let them enter the circle and pass as well. They’re to your right, and therefore have the right of way.

According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the number of fatalities on South African roads increased by 10%in 2017 and Transport Minister Blade Nzimande reported there were 16% more deaths during the festive period than in 2017.

In South Africa, vehicles to your right have the right of way when it comes to traffic circles. You must always yield to vehicles approaching from the right, even if you were there before some of them.

It’s a fact - nearly every person who enters a traffic circle thinks they have the right of way, and that they’re the only ones who know what’s going on. No matter how mild-mannered people are in their daily lives the second you put them in a traffic circle, they expect everyone else to wait. Admit it - we all approach these little circles of chaos with that attitude.

What very few people will admit is that this attitude is the result of confusion. Some drivers have absolutely no clue what to do at a traffic circle, so they simply try to get it over with as quickly as possible by barging through and calling everyone else an idiot! The big secret here, is that there’s no shame in not knowing what to do at traffic circles. Most of us are a little confused . . .

ArriveAlive has put together some handy information for navigating South African traffic circles. Here is a cheat sheet to help you get around trick traffic circles.

No matter the size of the traffic circle (double lanes, or a tiny parking lot exit circle) the rules around how they should be handled remain the same.

Use your common sense and slow down. Traffic circles are designed to calm traffic, and not to test you vehicle’s cornering ability. You also don’t know if other vehicles are approaching the circle at speed, so rather err on the side of caution.