Going around in circles when it comes to our roundabouts...

In all honesty, I don’t get it. I don’t claim to be the world’s best driver, but I’m a pretty decent one and I’ve never really had any problems navigating the roundabouts on the Island. My hunch is that people simply overthink them. On top of that, confusing terminology has resulted in many of our readers being completely mystified about what to call them.

Even our recent efforts to clear the confusion for you resulted --alas!-- in more confusion. About a month ago, I wrote a refresher course on roundabouts, aiming to clarify a few points to our readers, who wrote in. Our translator promptly translated “roundabout� to “rond-point�, instead of using “carrefour giratoire�, which is the correct term.

Since roundabout and rond-point sound practically identical, it’s easy to see how he (and many others) made the mistake.

Ironically, roundabouts and rond-points are completely opposite (you yield before entering a roundabout, you don’t, before entering a rond-point).

After the French translation of my article ran, more confusion ensued and more letters came pouring in. A quick glance in a dictionary and you’ll see that British and American terms also vary, adding to the befuddlement.

At the end of the day, this is what you need to know: the circular intersections found on the Island are called a roundabout (in English) and a carrefour giratoire (in French). A rond-point is actually a traffic circle in English; not a roundabout. See the confusion?

Personally, I think someone in Transports Quebec is playing a joke on us...

Now, moving on from the terminology, let’s discuss navigating a roundabout. Why are so many of you confused? It’s basic stuff. As you approach a roundabout, you’ll see a YIELD sign. It’s right there! You can’t miss it, even if you tried. You slow down, you watch for pedestrians and bicyclists and you prepare to stop if you have to. If there’s no traffic on your left, you enter the roundabout and exit on your right. Simple, right? Wrong!

Just this morning, as I was travelling on the roundabout, I was behind four cars, who were forced to slow down unnecessarily because a car in the front decided to wait and allow a car, waiting to enter the roundabout, to enter. I can appreciate the driver’s politeness, but he or she had it all wrong. Cars attempting to enter the roundabout, have to yield to those already in the roundabout; not the other way around!

At the same time, despite what the law says, pedestrians should always use common sense, as far as I’m concerned. Yes, they may have priority, but try and argue with a bumper as it slams into you and you self-righteous ways. To paraphrase Dr. Phil, “You want to be right or you want to be alive?� It’s a rhetorical question. No need to answer.