How to use a roundabout? We asked a local city engineer to find out

POCATELLO – Despite existing in the city for nearly two decades, there are some drivers who don’t clearly understand the rules of a roundabout.

On October 6, a Facebook user posted dashcam footage to the group “Pocatello Unfiltered,” where they nearly collided with another vehicle in the roundabout where Hurley Drive and Pole Line Road intersect. While none of the comments took the side of the opposing vehicle, there was some disagreement about whether or not the driver with the dashcam was also in the wrong.

To figure out if the driver broke any traffic laws, and to learn more about roundabouts in general, EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Pocatello’s city engineer, Merril Quayle.

Quayle said that the city built the Pole Line Road and Hurley Drive roundabout back in either 2006 or 2007, making it close to 20 years old. And while not full roundabouts, some of the city’s neighborhoods have traffic circles, where similar rules apply.

He added that Chubbuck has a number of roundabouts as well, and Idaho Falls added roundabouts to its streets before Pocatello did.

“Just like a traditional intersection or a signal, roundabouts can move quite a bit of traffic in certain areas,” Quayle said.

By design, roundabouts reduce a driver’s speed as they enter an intersection, while also reducing time spent at the intersection. Rather than come to a complete stop, drivers yield to pedestrians and traffic inside the roundabout. If there are none, drivers can proceed through the intersection at a reduced speed.

The dashcam footage shows the driver enter the intersection from the parking lot, where there’s only one lane to enter. Once inside the roundabout, the driver crossed over a dashed line to enter the inside lane.

The opposing vehicle enters the roundabout heading south on Hurley Drive, while the driver with the dashcam is still inside the roundabout. Before the cars collide, the driver slows down from 17 mph to 12 mph before both vehicles exit the roundabout heading towards Yellowstone Avenue.

Quayle told EastIdahoNews.com that while the opposing vehicle correctly moved through the roundabout, the driver should have yielded to the dashcam driver, as they had already entered the intersection.

“The other (driver’s) movement was correct and everything. But he didn’t yield. He hustled, he hurried. He didn’t slow down and yield. He hurried and went fast,” Quayle said.

Additionally, the dashcam driver entered the roundabout correctly, assuming that there wasn’t any traffic not visible in the video. This is because they only had a single entrance to the intersection, and crossed over the dashed line to enter the inside lane, which is the only lane that would allow them to turn left towards Yellowstone.

Quayle said that every driver approaching a roundabout needs to pay attention to signage and lane markings, and yield to any traffic already in the intersection. Cars that are traveling through the roundabout should be using turn signals to indicate which direction they plan on going.

Something important for drivers to remember is that when they’re in a roundabout and see an emergency vehicle approaching, they should exit the roundabout as soon as possible and pull over to the side of the road, rather than pull over inside the roundabout.

“You leave the roundabout, get outside of that so (the emergency vehicle has) plenty of room to maneuver,” Quayle said.

Cars that are entering and exiting the roundabout yield to pedestrians. Quayle added that pedestrians should be paying attention to the incoming traffic and be aware of their surroundings.

In short, Quayle summarized what people should do when they come upon a roundabout.

“Watch your signage, see what kind of roundabout it is, and then pick your lane, just like you would any traditional (intersection),” Quayle said. “Then you start to proceed in, and you slow down, and you yield to the pedestrians, bikes, and you yield to everybody that is inside of the roundabout itself. You find the gap, you get in and you signal appropriately too.”

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