Cape Cod Feature

The English cheerfully call them "roundabouts," and although that lighthearted moniker might sound like it describes a fun (albeit slightly nauseating) carnival ride, rotaries are serious business. Uninitiated drivers are often so confused upon entering one that they either ignore all rules of the road or freeze up completely. Both reactions will likely cause horns to blare and the fists and fingers of your fellow motorists to come out in full force.

Follow a few simple rules, and you'll be swinging around traffic circles like a local. The most important thing to remember is that drivers who are already in the rotary have the right of way: those entering must yield to the traffic in the rotary. This means that if you're approaching the rotary, you must wait until there is enough space for you to enter—you can't just hit the gas and hope for the best. Because if you do, you probably just caused a fellow motorist to commit another cardinal sin: stopping while in the rotary. Either that, or he just hit you.

Using a rotary is actually a very simple concept. Now that you know the rules, you may even grow to appreciate their exquisite logic (at the very least, you'll see fewer unfriendly hand gestures).