How do you drive in a roundabout? Who has the right of way in a roundabout? What if the entry road has one lane, the roundabout has three lanes, and the exit road has two lanes? Does the person in the inner lane of the roundabout have the right of way over the person in the middle or outer lane of the roundabout, i.e. does he have the right to "cut through" it and exit wherever he wants?
What do the traffic signs in front of a roundabout mean?
A roundabout is regulated by traffic signs, but there are also roundabouts without traffic signs, although they are extremely rare!
Let's start with the first ones. Before entering a roundabout, a traffic sign "right-of-way intersection" is placed - an inverted red-and-white triangle, which you can see in the picture below.
This sign clearly tells you that vehicles in the roundabout have priority over you who are entering the roundabout. Therefore, the priority always goes to the person in the roundabout. The blue round sign with three white arrows "biting each other's tails" also tells you that you are coming to a roundabout.
However, if there are no traffic signs in front of a roundabout, then the usual traffic rules apply, as at any other intersection, i.e. the right-hand rule.
In this case, if there is no red-and-white triangle, the vehicle coming from the right has the right of way, which means that it has the right of way over the one already in the roundabout! We repeat – such roundabouts are very rare, but you can still come across them somewhere.
The Slavija roundabout in Belgrade?
It is currently being reconstructed, so we will see what it will look like after the reconstruction.
Many people did not even consider Slavija to be a real roundabout, but an improvisation that was applied in the absence of a better solution. In practice, the rules for normal roundabouts did not apply to Slavija - people there simply managed and got through as best they could.
Trams, trolleybuses, articulated buses, stations, endless columns of pedestrians...
Vehicles enter Slavija from seven sides, they turn off at five exits, the lanes were not marked, so the entire passage through this roundabout came down to the dominance of the more resourceful, experienced and rude compared to those who do not find their way or try to find some logic in this chaos.
However, for those who are used to it, Slavija was no problem at all - you just need to understand how it works. It very quickly becomes routine, especially if you drive an Audi with tinted windows.
What do they say in driving schools?
We spoke with Miloš Vukadinović, a driving instructor at the Pravo L driving school (New Belgrade, near the Piramida shopping mall):
"Roundabouts can be regulated in several ways. For example, in Belgrade, it is the same at all intersections now - there are triangles indicating the intersection with the road with the right of way, which means that all vehicles approaching the roundabout must let go of vehicles that are in the roundabout.
It is specific that there are also trams on some roundabouts in Belgrade, namely Slavija and Autokomanda. I even think that Autokomanda is more complicated at the moment.
It is specific because there are two tram traffic flows there - one is circular, and the other goes in the middle, i.e. intersects the roundabout, so drivers who come there for the first time have problems finding their way around.
Another way of regulating roundabouts is the right-hand rule. They are found in some places, they are very rare, and you will recognize them by the fact that there are no signs in the form of triangles indicating the intersection with a road with the right of way.
They can also be regulated by traffic lights - there are none in Serbia, but I have had the opportunity to see them in other countries.
Why is Slavija specific? Because at the entrance to Slavija there are one, two or three traffic lanes for entry, and the roundabout itself does not have defined lanes.
Only the central lane is defined, which is used by trams. They move somewhere in the middle of the roundabout, and two to three rows of vehicles can fit on the left and right, and that is why such an arrangement poses a certain problem. I believe that the new project will solve this in a better way.
How do you move through a roundabout? That is a problem for some people. We can turn right, continue straight or turn left through a roundabout, but this is not done like in ordinary intersections, but in a roundabout.
As at every intersection, if I want, i.e. if I know that I will turn right at that intersection, I give the right turn signal before the intersection and in principle I follow the right lane and turn right from the right lane. If there are more lanes, I can also use another lane, but I should also follow that flow when exiting.
If I go straight, I follow the lane that is intended for the roundabout for the right and when exiting the roundabout I inform other road users with the turn signal that I want to exit.
And of course, if I turn left, i.e. I exit at the third exit, before the roundabout I give the left turn signal and take a position either in the middle or in the far left lane.
After entering the roundabout, I change lanes to the right by one or two lanes (depending on the number of lanes) and give the right turn signal, possibly letting vehicles in the right lane pass and exit the roundabout.
If I'm in the middle lane and I want to exit the roundabout, I have to pass the vehicles in the right lane, which may be going in a circle or will turn right before me.
As for the situation when there is a crowd in the right lane, well, I can't
I get out, is it better to make another circle or stop and wait for a suitable opportunity to move into the right lane? There are two theories. You will not find how it is defined anywhere in the law.
Some, such as, for example, Slovenians and French advocate the theory that one should make another circle. But what happens when you make a circle, come to the same place, and it is still crowded. Should you go another circle? I think that you should give the right turn signal as well as when you want to change lanes, to wait for vehicles to pass or for one of the tolerant drivers to let you through.
In my opinion, that is a way to create less congestion than making another circle. Imagine if everyone in your situation started making another circle.
However, no one will define it precisely for you. I am also familiar with the Law on Traffic Safety of Croatia and Slovenia and nowhere do they clearly specify it. It is just "our opinion that it should be done that way", but nowhere does it say that it has to be done that way.
It is up to the driver to judge, but I think it is better to slow down or stop, use the turn signal and leave the roundabout at the appropriate time.
Before entering a roundabout, the driver should know where he wants to go, i.e. where the exit road is located, and based on that, position himself in the appropriate lane on the entry road.
For example, if you want to immediately exit the roundabout on the right as soon as you enter it, it is logical that you will change lanes to the far right lane before the roundabout, enter the far right lane of the roundabout and immediately exit it. If you continue "straight", it is logical to enter the middle lane, move through the roundabout in the middle and exit the same way.
Sometimes the problem is that some roundabouts do not have the same number of lanes at the entrance and exit. The roundabout in Novi Beograd is excellent in this regard and is the easiest to follow.
At Bogoslovija (also in BG), the lanes are not well defined, so many drivers get confused, and it is difficult to give clear rules.
People from the interior need to be trained a little more on this issue, since in many smaller places there are simply no roundabouts, and even those who are just learning to drive in a driving school simply have nowhere to learn.
Our driving school passes all the roundabouts in Belgrade with each candidate, or at least 90%. Slavija or Autokomanda, the municipality of New Belgrade, Vojvođanska and near the Arena are mandatory.
Mostly Bogoslovija too, but not necessarily since the essence is the same. At Stari Sajmište there is one roundabout where there are no signs, but it is the only one regulated by the right-hand rule. All the others have signs that show who has the right of way.
