Traffic Signals & Right of Way

Roundabout rules in the UAE

On a UAE roundabout, every approaching vehicle gives way to traffic already on it. You hold the same lane before, during and as you leave, and you always signal right to show you are exiting. Those three rules answer nearly every roundabout question you will be asked.

A roundabout is not really a special case. It is an ordinary crossroads bent into a circle, with one or more lanes running around a central island, and giving priority to the traffic already inside is what makes it safer than a square junction.

Priority

Traffic on the roundabout has priority over traffic waiting to enter. Because circulation runs anticlockwise here, that traffic reaches you from your left, which is the same Left Hand Rule that governs uncontrolled junctions generally.

Where a Give Way sign and a roundabout sign appear together, they are telling you the same thing: you yield to what is already going round.

Choosing your lane

Decide before you arrive. Hesitating on the approach is what produces the sudden lane changes that cause collisions.

  • Turning right. Get into the right-hand lane.
  • Turning left. Move over into the left-hand lane.
  • Then keep that lane before, during and as you exit.

Expect large or oversized vehicles to need more than one lane to get round. Give them the room rather than the horn.

Signalling

Always signal your intention to leave by indicating right. It is the single piece of information every driver waiting to enter needs from you, and withholding it is why they hesitate, or pull out in front of you.

If you are continuing round rather than taking the next exit, do not signal right yet. A right indicator that comes on too early reads as "I am leaving here" and invites someone to move into the space you are about to occupy.

Leaving safely

Exiting can mean changing lanes, so it is especially important to watch for vehicles coming up on your right as you go. That is the blind spot that catches people on a multi-lane roundabout. Someone in the outer lane continuing round while you cut across them.

The same principle applies at any junction: keep the lane you are in before and after crossing, rather than treating the junction as an opportunity to reposition.

Do not block the junction

If traffic is queuing and you cannot clear the roundabout, wait before entering it. Stopping on the roundabout itself blocks every other approach at once, and obstructing a crossroads in a traffic jam is an offence in its own right.

The same reasoning applies at a green light. Green permits you to proceed if the way is clear; it does not oblige you to enter a junction you cannot get out of.

The two roundabout signs

You will meet two, and they belong to different families. The warning version is a red triangle showing three arrows turning anticlockwise: a roundabout is coming, give way to traffic from your left. The mandatory version is a blue circle with the same arrows, and it instructs rather than warns. It tells you which way round the island you must go.

Seeing the shape and colour is usually faster than reading the symbol, which is the whole point of the sign system.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming you have priority because you arrived first. You do not. Circulating traffic does.
  • Drifting between lanes while going round, instead of holding one.
  • Leaving without indicating, so nobody can predict you.
  • Indicating right too early and pulling someone out into your path.
  • Stopping on the roundabout itself when your exit is blocked, which locks the whole junction.

What the test asks

The priority question comes up most, and the answer is always traffic already on the roundabout. The signalling question is the one people lose marks on: the correct answer is the right indicator, given as you commit to your exit rather than on approach.

Watch for questions that describe going straight ahead, which usually means taking the second exit. There is no left indicator involved in that manoeuvre at any point.

Practise this

Reading is not the same as recall under a clock. Sit a full 45-question mock and see whether traffic signals & right of way comes out as a strong area, or try five questions first.

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