“Most mini roundabouts are simply a white spot painted on the road surface. Some are slightly raised forming a circular hump in the road and others made from a different surface material such as block paving. Many roundabouts follow the same rules as larger roundabouts but, becuause they are smaller, there is not as much space to manoeuvre and less time to signal.
There will sometimes be an advanced warning sign on the approach to the mini roundabout, but not always. Some direction signs indicate that there is a mini roundabout ahead. There is a blue circular mini roundabout sign at the location of the roundabout. This sign is a ‘must do’ compulsory sign, indicating that you must drive around the roundabout.
As a car driver, you should easily be able to drive around the roundabout, but larger vehicles such as lorries or vehicles towing trailers might not be able to do, so this means that you must take extra care when you meet large vehicles at mini roundabouts. Also watch out for vehicles that might be doing a U-turn, they can give you quite a surprise if you are not anticipating their actions.
Use your Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre routine on approach and give way to traffic from the right.
Although normal roundabout rules apply, there might not be enough space or time to give a meaningful signal. When exiting the roundabout, always consider a signal but take care not to mislead other road users.
These roundabouts are normally used in places where there was once a busy staggered crosssroad. At first, double mini roundabouts can look quite complicated, but they are easy to deal with if you follow the rules. Simply treat each roundabout separately.
Here at the first roundabout, the driver is cautious because the green car is not signalling. After giving way to the green car, the driver negotiates the second roundabout as a separate junction and gives way to the blue car which is giving a clear and correct signal.
The key points are
– Mini roundabouts are usually painted on the road surface
– The location is marked by a blue circular sign
– You must drive around the roundabout unless your vehicle is too large to do so
– Take care with large vehicles that might cut across your path
– Watch out for vehicles doing a U-turn, especially vehicles from ahead or from your left
– There might not be time or space to signal your exit. Be careful not to mislead other road users when signalling to exit”
