[caf]

No, the roundabout rule is that a vehicle entering a roundabout must give way to any vehicle already on the roundabout, or a tram that is entering or approaching the roundabout.

See the Australian Road Rules, Part 9: https://www.pcc.gov.au/uniform/Australian-Road-Rules-19March...

If you are approaching the roundabout and someone enters it from your left before you get there, you have to give way to them.

[mschuetz]

Things like that may vary from country to country, though. In Austria, roundabouts do not have a special rule and therefore a car approaching the roundabout theoretically has the right of way. But pretty much any roundabout has a yield sign, I've never encountered one without a yield sign at the entrance. Doesn't mean that there can't be a roundabout that does not have one.

[provost]

As you described, the default is to yield, and so the vehicle can always yield and signal its intention to do so by breaking slowly. And I agree, there may not always be a sign (a storm or driver could knock it over), so the default should always be to yield.

[chrononaut]

Isn't this what the original comment is saying though? Considering the cars are driving on the left-hand side of the road, cars in the roundabout are approaching from the right with respect to the vehicle, not the left. Or am I misunderstanding something unique for roundabouts in Australia? The way you describe it seems opposite of intuition that vehicles already within the roundabout do not have right of way.

[caf]

The original comment says "you have to give way to a car that is approaching or entering the roundabout on your right", whereas the rule is that you have to give way to all cars already on the roundabout, without regard to whether they approached from your right or left. If they got into the roundabout before you got there, you have to give way.

[sandos]

This sounds really weird, Sweden also has roundabouts but I do not have to yield to anyone on the roundabout, only the ones that I will interfere with? Whether someone enters after or before me is really of no consequence. I am basically not allowed to enter if I will obstructing someones path of travel, with the additional caveat that both lanes of a multi-lane roundabout has to be free, since anyone in the roundabout is free to switch lanes.

[hueving]

>I am basically not allowed to enter if I will obstructing someones path of travel,

Yes, you just described how yielding works everywhere. You enter unless you will block someone. There is nowhere in the world that you yield to someone who isn't going to hit you, that's just called a stop sign.

[empressplay]

In Australia you can not change lanes in a roundabout.

[lazyasciiart]

That's not true

> You can change lanes within a roundabout, but you must indicate and give way to other vehicles. http://www.roadrules.rsc.wa.gov.au/road-rules/roundabouts

edit: and NSW too, to make it clear this isn't just "oh WA"

> Be careful if changing lanes in a roundabout, particularly when leaving http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/safety-rules/road-rules/roun...