Roundabouts In Bismarck, You’re Still Doing It Wrong! (VIDEO)

Bismarck Mandan has its fair share of roundabouts now, and It's a pretty good bet that more and more roundabouts will be coming.   I can't help but chuckle a little bit.  Why?  Well, the majority of you are still doing it wrong.  Yep, there's one essential thing you are forgetting to do while driving through one of the several roundabouts we have in Bismarck, Mandan & Lincoln.  Any idea what that is?

Of course not, because so few people are actually doing it.  In fact, some law enforcement officers I see going through roundabouts forget to do it. However, they can and will pull you over for not doing this.  In fact, I see the Lincoln police pulling cars over for not doing this just about EVERY DAY!  Again, what could it be?

I spoke with Robyn Kraile, the Chief of Police in the beautiful city of Lincoln, North Dakota,  to get the skinny on the subject.  According to the North Dakota Century Code 39-10-38, you must SIGNAL when leaving a roundabout.  Yet, nobody does it? In case you're not familiar with North Dakota Century Code 39-10-38, it basically says if you're going to move right or left, you must signal. That includes a right turn inside a roundabout says the Chief of Police in Lincoln. Will they give you a ticket for not doing it? Probably not, but they will use it for a reason to pull you over.

Here's why you should be signaling when leaving a roundabout. The person who is waiting to enter the roundabout to your left will know it's safe to enter the roundabout if they can see you are exiting. It's really that simple.

I actually was behind a person the other day entering a roundabout who signaled LEFT???  WTH?  First off you don't signal when entering a roundabout and you certainly don't signal left.  Again, head shake.  This really is ridiculously easy to understand.  You signal when you EXIT.  That's it!

Yesterday, I made a pit stop by the roundabout off Lincoln Road to see how many people actually signaled when exiting.  As expected in my brief experiment, only ONE person did.  One out of seven to be exact.  By the way, I see Lincoln police pulling people over at that roundabout all the time.  Pretty good bet, its for not signaling some of the time.  Here's the (VIDEO).

I also spoke with a lady named Amanda, who works at the Department of Transportation, and she confirmed not signaling when exiting a roundabout falls within this North Dakota Century Code. It's even in the driver's manual. Amanda also lives in Lincoln and has noticed the lack of blinkers when exiting roundabouts. She mentioned she's even observed officers from Highway Patrol and Sheriff's department not using their blinkers in roundabouts.  Citizen's arrest anybody?

So, now you've been warned once again.  Use that blinker in the roundabout when you exit.  It might just save you a big hassle someday.