Things Seen @ North Dakota Roundabouts That Make You Go Hmmm

I'm not going to lie, watching people in the Capital Region navigate roundabouts is pretty humorous.

These roundabouts in many cases, have been around for close to 10 years. You would think that drivers would eliminate the guesswork and just learn to drive them correctly.

I'm pretty sure I've seen all of the "things that make you go hmmm" at roundabouts at least a few times.

My favorite of all time just happened at the Lincoln roundabout near the Cenex Convenience store yesterday afternoon on the way home.

A guy in a white pickup truck decided to stop right in the middle of the roundabout to allow the vehicle in front of me to enter the roundabout. That's right, he just hit the brakes and came to a complete stop.

Why he would do this I have no idea. Maybe, he thought he was being courteous by doing this? Instead, what he was doing was creating a dangerous situation, if anybody had been following behind him closely, we likely could've had a pileup.

The truck in front of me accepted the invitation and entered the roundabout. Something I would've never done, again for safety reasons.

My listeners decided to weigh in on their North Dakota roundabout head-scratchers.

I recently asked my listeners on-air, online, and on our app, what are some of the "Things that make you go Hmmm" that you have witnessed at North Dakota roundabouts.

The #1 answer by far was not signaling when EXITING a roundabout.

That's right, you signal when you EXIT a roundabout, not when you enter a roundabout. Two main reasons for this. First, you let the vehicle waiting at the entrance of the roundabout ahead of you know they can enter safely.

Next, this keeps the flow of traffic moving at a better pace. Not to mention, it's the law. Keep in mind, that you could be given a citation every time you fail to signal when exiting a roundabout. The cops in Lincoln especially will get you for this.

Overall, I think people have gotten a little better at signaling when exiting a roundabout in the Bismarck Mandan area.

Another common thing witnessed at North Dakota roundabouts is people who come to a complete stop when entering a roundabout.

You don't need to do this if nobody is approaching your entrance. You have a YIELD sign, which means keep the flow of traffic moving if you can safely enter. It's not a STOP sign. Pretty simple.

Another thing that makes you go hmmm is people who signal when ENTERING a roundabout.

This is not necessary, and I'm sorry, you look stupid doing so. You are not changing lanes, and everybody knows you entering the roundabout.

Last but not least. Things that make you go hmmm at North Dakota roundabouts.

People who turn on their blinkers when entering a roundabout and keep them on the whole time inside a roundabout.

Some even turn on their left blinker, which is really a head-scratcher, because nowhere inside that roundabout are you turning left.

The majority of roundabout issues really are about learning how and when to use your blinker. How many of you are still doing it wrong? Hopefully, this article will clarify things for you.