Do Roundabouts Confuse People?
I’ve almost been hit three times in the last two weeks, and I honestly think it’s because some, not all, people don’t understand how to drive in a roundabout.
I assume we all get that cars inside the circle have the right-of-way, but twice this week drivers have tried to shoot into the roundabout right in front of me while I was passing their entrance to get to my exit. They both came close to t-boning me as I was driving to pick up my kid at WCC.
On the other side I’ve noticed people have a habit of "tailgating entry" or "blindly following" the bumper ahead of them. They drive right behind the car in front of them, with others following behind them doing the same, causing a back up of cars at the other entrances. Tailgate entry/blind following isn’t just illegal in WA state (it is), it makes it dangerous for people trying to enter in a gap when tailgating drivers gun it to try and stop them from entering. Earlier today I was pulling into a safe gap, but the next car in line blindly piggybacked into the circle right behind the leader, cutting me off, then blaring their horn at me as though I was the issue. I have lived all over the US and while, in general, the drivers here are better than most other places I have driven, the exception are roundabouts.
With other people posting about that angry woman in a blue Subaru cutting people off and driving erratically, and that guy who said he followed a young woman five times around a roundabout all because she tailgated someone else (he saw it so called the police on her), things are getting a bit chaotic on the roads here.