City gyratory
Six arms, two lanes round and nothing evenly spaced. One arm only joins the gyratory and one only leaves it, so counting exits is the skill.
Count what is an exit
An arm you cannot leave by is not an exit, and a slip road that only feeds in is not one either. Miscounting is how people end up committed to the wrong lane at speed. The clock rule still works, but you have to apply it to the exit you actually want, not the third gap you happen to see.
Position early, then hold it
On a big gyratory the lane you take on the approach is the lane you are living with. The traffic beside you will not let you change your mind halfway round. Choose it from the sign, hold it, and signal left only as you pass the exit before yours.
The traffic is the same every time
Fixed seed, fixed timestep. A busy gyratory is only practisable if it is the same busy gyratory each run.
Common questions
Is a gyratory different from a roundabout?
Not in the rules. It is a large one-way system built around a block rather than an island, usually with more arms and more lanes, and the same priority applies.
The rest of the set
- Single-lane roundaboutFour arms, one lane round. Give way to the right, take the second exit.
- Three-arm roundaboutThree arms in a T. From the side road the second exit is a right turn, so it needs a right signal.
- Mini roundaboutPainted island, same priority rules, and you still have to go round it.
- Double mini roundaboutTwo minis, one after the other. Each is its own give way. Read them one at a time.
- Two-lane roundaboutTwo lanes round, spiral arrows on the road. Right lane and a right signal for the third exit.
- Signal-controlled roundaboutLights on every arm. Green gets you to the line: you still give way to the roundabout.
- Magic roundaboutFive minis around a ring that runs the other way. Read them one at a time and it is just five give ways.
Also included: the manoeuvre simulator and the 3D drives of the routes around your own test centre.