Carmel roundabouts: how to drive them and what to do after a crash

This page has two parts: how to drive Carmel roundabouts, following the rules and advice of the Indiana BMV and INDOT, and what to do if you are in a crash in or near one. Personal Injury Lawyer Carmel is a free attorney referral service and a public law firm directory, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice.

How a roundabout works

The Indiana BMV’s driver’s manual describes a roundabout as a circular intersection in which traffic enters or exits only through right turns and moves counterclockwise, and it says incoming traffic always yields to the traffic already circling. The Indiana Code defines a roundabout as a circular intersection in which traffic flows almost continuously in one direction around a central island, and a driver going around one must stay to the right of that island.

Nobody turns left across oncoming traffic. As INDOT puts it, left turns are completed by circling around the center island and then making a right turn to exit. The BMV also notes that an older traffic circle is a different thing: it may have traffic moving in both directions, and stop signs instead of yield signs on its approaches.

Some roundabouts have one lane and some have more than one. The BMV manual and INDOT’s roundabout page cover both, and the tips below follow them.

Driving tips for Carmel roundabouts

These tips come from INDOT’s four steps for driving a roundabout (approach, enter, proceed, exit), the Indiana BMV driver’s manual and the Indiana Code. Always follow the signs, lane markings and any police direction at the roundabout in front of you.

Approaching

• Slow down and stay in your lane. That is INDOT’s first step on the approach, together with obeying one-way signs at all times.
• Know your lane before you enter. In a roundabout with more than one lane, the BMV says drivers should know which lane they need before entering. Signs, pavement markings or both guide drivers to the proper lane ahead of the circle.
• Yield to people in the crosswalk. The BMV says approaching vehicles must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to traffic in the roundabout, and INDOT says to yield to pedestrians and bicycles if there is a crosswalk.

Entering

• Yield to traffic already in the circle. INDOT’s advice is to merge with traffic in the roundabout, yielding if necessary: traffic already in the roundabout has the right of way.
• Yield to semis and buses. Indiana law generally requires drivers to yield to semis and other large vehicles moving through a roundabout (Indiana Code 9-21-8-10.5). Give them room, since they may need more than one lane.

In the circle

• Keep going to your exit. INDOT says to continue through the roundabout until you reach your exit point and to avoid stopping in the roundabout.
• Do not change lanes in the circle. The BMV says drivers should not change lanes in the circulatory roadway, which is why picking the lane before you enter matters.
• Stay to the right of the center island. Indiana law says a vehicle going around a roundabout must be driven only to the right of the central island.

Leaving

• Signal and exit to the right. That is INDOT’s last step. A left turn is simply the longer trip around the island before that right turn out.

Sharing roundabouts with others

Trucks and buses

Indiana law generally requires a driver approaching or going through a roundabout to yield to a large vehicle, such as a semi or a bus, that is moving through it at the same time, and to slow down or stop if needed. A driver already in the roundabout does not have to yield to a large vehicle that is only approaching. The BMV manual gives the same rule for tractor-trailers and buses in roundabouts with more than one lane, and its diagram marks a truck apron around the center island. Give a large vehicle room, and do not drive alongside it.

People walking and on bikes

Drivers coming into a roundabout must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, according to the BMV, and INDOT includes bicycles: yield to pedestrians and bicycles if there is a crosswalk. For people on foot, the BMV’s advice is to never walk across the circulating lanes to the center island.

Emergency vehicles

If an ambulance, fire truck or police car comes up behind you with its siren or emergency lights on, Indiana law generally requires you to pull right and stop clear of the intersection until it passes, unless an officer directs otherwise (Indiana Code 9-21-8-35). INDOT advises doing the same in a roundabout: carefully move as far right as possible and, if necessary, stop until the emergency vehicle passes.

After a crash in a Carmel roundabout

A crash in a roundabout is handled like any other crash in Indiana. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1 lists the duties of every driver involved:

1. Stop at the scene, or as close as possible without blocking traffic more than necessary.
2. If anyone is hurt, call 911 and help injured people as the 911 operator, police or medics direct.
3. Give your name, address and vehicle registration number to the others involved, and show your driver’s license.
4. If you hit an unattended car or property, find the owner or contact police.

Indiana law generally says that if a car is stopped in the traveled part of the road after a crash, the driver should move it off as soon as it is safe, close to the crash. That does not apply when someone is hurt, killed or trapped, or when hazardous materials are involved. In those cases, leave the cars where they are and call 911.

What to record

Write these details down while they are fresh:

• Which roundabout: the two roads that meet there.
• Which entry each car came from and which exit each was heading for.
• Which lane each car was in, if it was a two-lane roundabout.
• Whether anyone was in a crosswalk, and whether a truck or bus was in the circle.
• Photos of the cars where they stopped (before moving them, if it is safe), the lane arrows and the signs.
• Names and phone numbers of witnesses, and the other driver’s insurance company and policy number.

The police report

If anyone is injured or killed, the driver must notify police as soon as possible: inside Carmel, the local police; outside a city or town, the county sheriff or the nearest state police post; or a 911 operator. An officer must investigate every crash with injury or death, or apparent property damage of at least $2,500, and send a report to the Indiana State Police within 24 hours of finishing. That report is a public record, and you can usually buy a copy online through BuyCrash, the service the Indiana State Police uses. See getting a Hamilton County crash report.

Who is at fault in a roundabout crash?

A roundabout crash is a car crash like any other. Under Indiana law, car crash injury claims generally turn on fault, so a claim usually starts with the at-fault driver and that driver’s liability insurer. The roundabout rules above can be part of the picture, such as who had to yield, whether anyone changed lanes in the circle, and whether someone was in a crosswalk, but whether a driver was at fault depends on the facts of each crash.

Indiana generally follows modified comparative fault. If you are found 51% or more at fault, you generally cannot recover. If you are 50% or less at fault, any recovery is generally reduced by your share (Indiana Code 34-51-2). If each driver says the other should have yielded, the details above, the police report and any witnesses can matter.

Different fault rules can apply to claims against a government unit. If a city, county or state vehicle was involved, Indiana law generally requires a written notice within 180 days for a city, town or county and 270 days for the state.

Insurance and deadlines

Tell your own insurer about the crash. Check your own policy for medical payments, collision and uninsured motorist coverage; newly written Indiana policies must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless you rejected it in writing. Indiana law generally gives two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, and two years for damage to your car (Indiana Code 34-11-2-4). The deadline can be shorter or different in some cases, and a licensed Indiana attorney can say which applies.

Talking with a lawyer after a roundabout crash

Not every roundabout bump needs a lawyer. When someone is hurt, when the other driver’s insurer blames you, or when a truck, cyclist or person on foot is involved, people often want a lawyer’s view. You have two options here:

• Call the free referral line to reach the intake team of a participating independent attorney’s office. Participating attorneys pay to receive calls. Read how it works.
• Look through the personal injury law firm directory and call a firm directly on its own office line. Directory firms appear free, from public sources, and do not take calls from the referral line.

For crashes elsewhere in the city, the guide for a Carmel car accident lawyer covers the roads, insurance and the BMV’s insurance check.

Questions people ask