Traffic circles

[JTB]

To the lady who insisted she was following state traffic regulations in turning short left at the traffic circle on 47th Ave SW and Oregon. I’ve gone back to review the state and city regulations concerning traffic circles and roundabouts and find you are mistaken. City regs say only if navigating the circle counter-clock wise is hindered by parked vehicles or inadequate turning space is it permissible to turn short leftward and then only if you do not hinder other traffic, pedestrians or bicycles. One of the left turns at that traffic circle has a very limited view of oncoming traffic from the left, so it’s even more important that folks stick to the rules of the road to avoid confusion and mishaps.

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[Sue]

This came up several years ago here, and I had emailed SDOT to get some clarification of the rules on this. This was their reply at the time:

“Thank you for your inquiry regarding the rules pertaining to left turns at neighborhood traffic circles. You are correct that the Washington Driver Guide (and the state law that the guide implements), does not distinguish between

neighborhood traffic circles and roundabouts.

Practically speaking, a left turn can be performed safely in front of a neighborhood traffic circle since they are typically located in low traffic volume and low speed residential streets, unlike roundabouts, which control traffic flow on higher volume arterials.

However, under a strict interpretation of the Driver Guide and state laws, this is not a legal left turn, and similarly to roundabouts, a driver turning left at a neighborhood traffic circle should proceed counterclockwise around the traffic circle, rather than turning left in front of the circle.

We recognize that this issue causes confusion, and the City will be working this year toward clarifying the distinction between neighborhood traffic circles and roundabouts in state law, addressing the issue in the Seattle Municipal

Code, or both.”

So I read this as yeah, you’ll probably get away with it because we usually ignore it, but it’s technically not legal to make the short left and you COULD get a ticket for it if somebody is bored and wants to write a ticket.

And this is from maybe 4-5 years ago, so it looks as if the “working this year” to clarify this hasn’t worked so well for them.

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[KBear]

It’s only one of many traffic laws that are almost never enforced for some reason. Also on the list are wrong-way parking and throwing cigarette ash/butts out the window.

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[JTB]

Here’s what the Seattle Department of Transportation has in the Neighborhood Traffic Operations section:

“How do I turn left at a traffic circle?

State Law does not distinguish between a traffic circle and a larger roundabout. Consequently, a driver turning left at a neighborhood traffic circle must proceed counterclockwise around the traffic circle. However, we recognize that there are instances when drivers may need to turn left before a traffic circle, such as when cars park too closely to the right side of a circle or when a driver can’t maneuver a larger vehicle around to the right. Turning left in front of a traffic circle in those instances can be safely performed if the driver exercises reasonable care and yields to pedestrians, bicyclists, and oncoming traffic.”

I’m coming to believe the best thing is not to expect other drivers to follow the guideline/regulation and just see what happens instead. Since that involves slowing down to a crawl I guess the traffic circle is accomplishing its purpose.

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