You arrive at a roundabout thinking about the traffic on your right, then notice the lane arrow later than you wanted. A car is beside you, someone is waiting behind, and now you are trying to choose a gap and work out the exit at the same time. The difficult part is not always steering around the island. It is sorting out those decisions early enough.
The useful starting point for WA roundabout rules is this: follow the lane arrows, give way to vehicles already in the roundabout, and signal your exit left if practicable. Choose your lane before you arrive, adjust your speed so you can assess the situation, and follow the marked path rather than cutting across another lane to reach your exit.
Whether you are a learner, on P plates or have been driving around Perth for years, the aim is not to rush through before someone gets impatient. It is to understand where you are going, where others are going, what you must give way to and whether there is enough room to carry out the movement.
Choose the lane before choosing the gap
Our cue for multi-lane roundabouts is "Pick your lane before you commit." Read the approach signs and lane arrows early enough to act on them. A lane that works for going straight at one roundabout may be turn-only at another, so do not make the previous layout your rule for the next one.
On a multi-lane approach to an unfamiliar roundabout, start with this: stay right to turn right, stay left to turn left, and read the road to work out which lane or lanes permit going straight if that is where you need to go. Always check the arrows for the actual layout.
The arrows take precedence over those general lane choices. For example, if the left lane is marked left-turn only and you want to go straight, you need a lane marked for straight-ahead travel. Do not enter from the left lane and assume you can sort it out inside. You will quickly make new friends.
Slow down early enough to read the situation
"The less you see, the slower you should approach." Choose a speed that lets you observe the entry, the circulating traffic and your intended path, and stop if you need to give way. There is no single approach speed that suits every roundabout, vehicle, road surface and view.
Do not spend the whole approach looking right while continuing to roll towards the vehicle ahead. Keep checking what is directly in front of you as well as the traffic you may need to give way to.
For a planned turn requiring a signal, MIB helps organise the preparation: Mirror, Indicate, Brake. "Mirror" in our cue means the interior rear-view mirror. Going straight ahead does not require an approach indicator simply because you are slowing down, but you still want to "Mirror" and "Brake" to adjust speed.
Our MILO and MIB guide explains those checks, including preparing for a sideways move if you need to change lanes before reaching the roundabout. The cues help organise your actions.
Read MILO and MIB: Simple Checks for Safer Everyday Driving →
Use a routine, not just a glance to the right
The Licence Link 4 Step Roundabout Method is Look Through, Dip & Look Right, Check Left, Indicate Exit. Its central give-way reminder is: "Always give way to any vehicles already in the roundabout."
Look Through: Read the layout and your intended path on approach. Check what the cars coming towards you are doing before you get to the roundabout.
Dip & Look Right: Slow and follow the marked entry path as it dips left, where that is the layout. Look right and assess whether you need to give way. Do not stop unnecessarily, but stop whenever needed, including when you cannot see enough to ensure safe entry.
Check Left: Enter the roundabout after giving way, and check left as you enter. Do not assume a vehicle approaching from the left will automatically stop for you. Read the vehicle's body language, including its speed, braking and whether the driver appears to have seen you. Once you are in the roundabout, a driver who has not yet entered must give way to you, but do not rely on that alone to keep you safe.
Indicate Exit: Communicate the exit you are taking, with a left signal if practicable, using the timing explained below. Remember "steer first, indicate second": establish steering control as you enter and travel around the roundabout, then give the exit signal when practicable. This does not mean starting to steer out before signalling.
The step names are a reminder, not four observations that clear you for the rest of the manoeuvre. Keep updating the picture as you move, and continue to follow the lane markings, signs and other road rules.
Who do you give way to at a roundabout?
When entering, give way to vehicles already in the roundabout. That includes bicycles and motorcycles, not just the car that happens to be easiest to see.
"Give way to the right" is not a complete description of the rule. A vehicle approaching from your right but not yet in the roundabout is different from a vehicle already circulating. That distinction is not an invitation to race another driver to the entry.
Watch how the situation is developing. If another driver is approaching quickly and does not appear to be slowing, do not rely on your interpretation of priority to protect you.
On a multi-lane roundabout, consider the traffic across the roundabout, not only the lane closest to you. Do not assume that a vehicle in an inner lane cannot affect your path or that its indicator guarantees which exit it will take.
How do you judge a useful entry gap?
Start with what the traffic is doing, not just whether you can see an empty patch of road. A gap needs to give you enough time and space to enter safely while meeting your give-way obligation. If a vehicle you must give way to has to slow, stop or swerve to avoid your entry, that gap was not suitable.
Look at movement: Consider how quickly circulating vehicles are approaching and where they are heading. An indicator is useful information, but keep checking the vehicle's actual movement. Not everyone indicates properly.
Check your path: Make sure the vehicle ahead has moved and that there is room for you to proceed. Its decision to enter is not your clearance to follow.
Allow for your vehicle: Consider the time you need to move off and establish your path. Do not choose a gap that depends on a hurried launch or assumes someone else will brake to make it work.
Reassess after waiting: Traffic can change while you hesitate or prepare the controls. Check the gap you have now, not the one you noticed a moment ago.
Build up to busier roundabouts. Start with quiet suburban roundabouts, then move on to dual-lane roundabouts with little traffic. Progress to busier roundabouts once you understand your path, the steps and the rules, so you can focus more on timing.
If you cannot tell whether the gap is suitable, wait and reassess rather than forcing the decision. If you repeatedly find every gap difficult to judge, that is a specific skill to work on, not a reason to let a horn behind you choose for you. If needed, go back to quieter roundabouts to build experience, then work towards busier ones again as your skills develop.
The two-second following check answers a different question: how much time separates vehicles travelling along the road. It is not a formula for deciding when to enter a roundabout, but understanding following gaps can help you manage space, especially on the approach.
Our Following Distance guide explains how to manage space on the approach and respond to pressure from a close follower. Use that guidance to manage space behind a vehicle you are following in, while separately checking your own entry gap and giving way to circulating traffic.
Read Following Distance: Two Seconds, Three Seconds or More? →
Signal for the movement you actually intend
On an ordinary roundabout, think about where your exit sits relative to the road you entered from. "Halfway" means straight ahead or substantially straight ahead, not necessarily the second exit. Do not signal right merely because you are following the curve around the island.
First exit, less than halfway around: Indicate left on approach and keep indicating until you leave.
Straight ahead, or substantially straight ahead: No approach indicator is needed. If practicable, indicate left after passing the exit immediately before yours.
Turning right beyond halfway, or making a full turn: Indicate right on approach and while circulating, then indicate left if practicable after passing the exit immediately before yours.
If there are several exits before the straight-ahead road, do not treat them all as the first exit. For an exit after the first but before halfway, do not signal left on approach as though you intend to take the first exit; signal your actual exit left if practicable after passing the one before it.
"If practicable" matters at small roundabouts, where the time between exits may be short. It does not make exit signalling optional whenever you would prefer not to do it though. Keep control of the vehicle and make your intention clear when practicable.
Follow your lane through the exit
Choosing the correct entry lane is only the first part. Continue to read the lane markings as they guide you around and out of the roundabout.
For a straightforward two-lane roundabout, stay in your lane and follow it through the permitted exit. Do not straighten the steering path across the adjacent lane just because your destination road looks straight ahead. No cutting corners.
Some layouts guide lanes towards an exit rather than keeping them in a simple circle. Follow the actual markings, not an imagined path based on another roundabout.
If you need to change lanes within the roundabout, it is still a lane change: check the interior rear-view Mirror, Indicate the movement, Look Over into the relevant blind spot, and give way to traffic in the lane you are entering. Move only when safe and permitted by the markings. An exit indicator does not give you permission to cross somebody else's path. You must still give way.
As you leave, keep watching the road ahead rather than treating the exit as the end of the task. Look for traffic queues, people crossing and any pedestrian crossing or traffic signal that applies.
Leave room for people and larger vehicles
Do not try to squeeze past or overtake a cyclist inside the roundabout. Keep them in your observations and allow room rather than treating them as an obstacle to get around before the exit.
Give larger vehicles room to follow their path, too. Avoid trying to slip alongside a truck simply because a space appears beside it for a moment. That space can close quickly beside a long truck on a small roundabout, so give it room and heed its "do not overtake turning vehicle" sign.
Watch for people at the entry and exit roads. At a pedestrian crossing, approach at a speed that allows you to stop safely and give way as required. Do not let watching circulating traffic make you overlook a crossing in front of you. Plan your approach so you do not unnecessarily stop across it and block people trying to cross.
Common roundabout questions
Do I have to stop at every roundabout?
Not simply because it is a roundabout. You must give way as required and enter only when safe, which may mean stopping.
If the view is restricted by vehicles next to you or the traffic situation is unclear, slow sufficiently to assess it and stop when necessary. Do not turn "you do not always have to stop" into a target to keep rolling regardless of what you can see.
Can I go straight from the right lane?
On a two-lane approach, the general rule allows either lane for an exit straight ahead or substantially straight ahead. The lane arrows can change that, so read them first.
If your chosen lane permits the movement, follow its marked path through the roundabout and exit. Being allowed to go straight does not mean you can drift across the other lane while doing it.
What if I realise I am in the wrong lane?
Do not make reaching the intended exit more important than staying safe. Follow the permitted direction for your lane if a safe, lawful lane change is not available, then find another route.
Going around again is only an option where your lane and the markings allow it. A lane that directs you out of the roundabout is not permission to keep circling across another vehicle's path.
What if I keep missing gaps because I feel pressured?
Work out which part is unclear: recognising the traffic's movement, getting the vehicle ready, or knowing which lane leads to your exit. Those are more useful starting points than telling yourself to "be more confident" or saying "you can't do it".
After the drive, choose one of those decisions to work on next. The goal is to recognise a suitable opportunity and act on it calmly, not to become comfortable with smaller and smaller gaps.
Make the next practice drive specific
Plan a familiar route and choose a quieter time with suitable conditions. Decide which movement you want to practise before setting off, rather than adding a last-second direction as you approach.
Once safely parked, note what made the decision easier or harder. For example: "I read the arrows earlier, so I could concentrate on the traffic at the entry." That is an observation you can use on the next drive, without trying to rate every roundabout as a success or failure.
Build a clearer approach to roundabouts
You do not have to wait until you feel completely confident before asking for support. A useful starting point is knowing which part of your driving feels rushed or unclear and working on the observation, timing and decisions behind it.
The Licence Link Defensive Driving Course is a three-hour, face-to-face course for $297, with automatic and manual options. It is for licensed drivers, from red and green P-platers through to full licence holders who want to improve their skills or confidence.
The session includes briefing, practical coaching and debriefing, with priorities shaped around the areas you want to improve and the driving observed during the session. Freeway merging, lane changes and multi-lane planning are possible focus areas, or maybe parking is still something you avoid doing.
Drivers from across the Perth metropolitan area are welcome. Participants travel to our Bull Creek meeting point, south of the river. Bull Creek is where we meet, as it provides close access to all driving environments including the City, freeways right through to heavy industrial areas.
Your included resources are a personal digital feedback form and relevant digital cheat sheets. No subscription is needed. The aim is to leave with clearer priorities for your driving, not a guarantee that one session will remove every difficult moment.
Explore the Defensive Driving Course if you want practical help making your roundabout decisions feel less rushed.