To properly use a roundabout, drivers should:
- Stop within the roundabout.
- Yield to entering traffic.
- Drive in a clockwise direction.
- Yield to traffic already in the roundabout. ✓
Answer: D. Yield to traffic already in the roundabout.
Drivers should yield to traffic already in the roundabout.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook describes entering a modern roundabout by slowing down, yielding to traffic already in the circle, and joining only when there is an acceptable gap. It also says roundabout traffic flows counterclockwise and that yield signs, not lights, control vehicles entering. That makes yielding to traffic already circulating the correct action, since the entering driver must wait for a safe opening rather than take the right of way.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Stop within the roundabout. — Stopping inside the roundabout is not part of the handbook's steps; it tells you to follow the loop and exit, and to clear the circle before pulling over for an emergency vehicle.
- B. Yield to entering traffic. — Yielding to entering traffic reverses the rule: the handbook says vehicles entering must yield to traffic already in the circle.
- C. Drive in a clockwise direction. — Driving clockwise is wrong because the handbook says roundabout traffic travels counterclockwise around the center island.
Remember it
Remember the circle owns the right of way: wait for a gap, then join.