For learner drivers, and anyone who dreads big roundabouts

Drive the hard bits before you drive them.

The Highway Code and real UK roundabouts in 3D. Watch it, then try it: pick your lane and your signal, and see what happens.

Start with Roundabouts decodedFind a roundabout near my test centre

  • Checked by hand, lane by lane
  • Highway Code in plain words
  • Free to learn

  • Real roundabouts

    Named UK junctions, each checked by a person against evidence before it appears. Nothing unchecked is shown.

  • Watch it, then try it

    See the right run in 3D, then pick your own lane and signal and find out what would happen.

  • The rule behind it

    Every point traces to a Highway Code rule, explained in our own words, with the rule number beside it.

The guide

Roundabouts decoded

A short video in five parts is coming. Until then, here are the five things it will cover.

  1. A green roundabout sign beside the road, seen from behind a car on the approach
    Video coming

    Read the sign

    The map-type sign on the approach shows the roundabout's shape and where each exit goes. Find your exit on it before you get there.

  2. A car in its lane on the approach to a roundabout, with lane markings ahead
    Video coming

    Pick your lane

    The sign and the arrows painted on the road tell you which lane leads to your exit. Be in it before the give-way line.

  3. A car entering a roundabout, seen from above and behind
    Video coming

    Signal

    What to signal, and when, depends on which exit you take. This chapter will show it on a 3D road.

  4. A roundabout seen from straight above, with a car on the ring and its path trailing behind
    Video coming

    Follow the paint

    On many big roundabouts the lane markings lead you round and out. This chapter will show how to follow them.

  5. A car on the roundabout with a red trail showing a mistaken path, and a van beside it
    Video coming

    What goes wrong

    The mistakes people make most, shown as runs on a 3D road, with why they go wrong.

Try one now

Which lane would you take?

You want the third exit on a made-up junction. Pick your lane and your signal, watch what happens, then see why.

  1. Choose a lane (counted from the left) and a signal.
  2. Press Go and watch the car do exactly that, in 3D.
  3. Read why, with the Highway Code rule behind it.

Preview · made-up junctions Want to drive it yourself? Drive it or do a practice session.

Example junctionMade up, to show how a run looks

Loading the example…

Rules of thumb

What works, and what does not

What works on most roundabouts

  • Decide your exit from the sign and the road markings before you arrive Highway Code rule 184
  • Get into the right lane before the give-way line Highway Code rules 184, 186
  • Use the clock face: left exits at 9, straight ahead near 12, right exits past 12 Highway Code rule 186 · being checked
  • Stay in your lane and follow the paint Highway Code rules 185, 186
  • Give way to traffic from the right, and watch what is already on the roundabout Highway Code rule 185

What does not

  • Following the car in front instead of reading the sign Highway Code rules 184, 185 · being checked
  • Changing lane at the give-way line Highway Code rules 185, 186 · being checked
  • Signalling too early, or not at all Highway Code rule 186
  • Cutting across other lanes to make your exit Highway Code rules 186, 187

These lists are being checked against the Highway Code (rules 184 to 190). Lines marked "being checked" are not yet confirmed. Roundabout layouts vary, so always follow the signs and markings you can see.

Checked by hand

Real roundabouts

See all roundabouts

First roundabouts are being checked

A roundabout appears here only after a person has checked it, lane by lane, against real evidence. None have passed yet, so this list is empty for now. We would rather show nothing than show something wrong.

Towns being worked on

  • Coventry

How we check · Every roundabout shows when it was last checked · Report a change

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