Injured in a Car Crash in a Roundabout

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about a minor crash that occurred on a roundabout.

A roundabout is a circular intersection or junction in which road traffic flows almost continuously in one direction around a central island.

A vehicle passing around a roundabout shall be driven only to the right of the roundabout’s central island.

When approaching or driving through a roundabout, a person driving a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to the driver of a vehicle that is driving through the roundabout at the same time or so closely as to present an immediate hazard and shall slow down or stop if necessary to yield.

The Indiana BMV Driver’s Manual provides:

• when approaching a roundabout, incoming traffic always yields to the circulating traffic
• for multi-lane roundabouts, drivers should know which lane they need to be in before entering the roundabout. Drivers should not change lanes in the circulatory roadway
• drivers must yield the right of way to large vehicles driving through the roundabout at the same time, which includes slowing down or stopping to allow safe passage of the large vehicle through the roundabout

Common causes of roundabout crashes include:

• confusion about how to properly navigate a roundabout
• failing to yield to traffic already in the roundabout
• switching lanes upon entering the roundabout
• driving too fast in the roundabout
• and, improper stopping inside the roundabout.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”