The short version
- Yield to
- Traffic from your right, already in the circleRegulation 301
- Direction of travel
- Clockwise around the island
- Overridden by
- A traffic officer's instruction, or a road traffic signRegulation 301 says so in terms
- At a mini-circle
- The yield sign R2.2 governsYield to anyone crossing the yield line before you
- This is NOT the four-way stop rule
- Different junction, different regulation
What regulation 301 requires
Regulation 301 is written for exactly this junction. A driver intending to enter a portion of a public road that forms a junction of two or more roads "where vehicular traffic is required to move around a traffic island" must yield the right of way to all vehicular traffic approaching from the right within that junction.
Three words in that do the work. "Within" — the traffic you yield to is traffic already in the circle, not everything approaching it from somewhere on your right. "Traffic island" — this is what makes it a circle rather than an ordinary crossroads. And "all" — you yield to the whole of it, not to the first car and then squeeze in.
The regulation then gives two ways out of it: an instruction from a traffic officer, or a direction conveyed by a road traffic sign requiring you to act differently. A signposted circle follows its signs.
Mini-circles work off the yield line, not off who is already circling
A mini-circle — the small painted or raised dome at a suburban intersection — is usually signposted with yield signs, and that changes which rule applies. Regulation 301 gives way to "a direction conveyed by a road traffic sign requiring him or her to act differently", and a yield sign is exactly such a direction.
So at a signposted mini-circle the yield sign is the instruction: give way to any vehicle that will cross the yield line before you and whose path crosses yours. What decides it is the yield line, not whether a car is already going round.
That distinction matters because the overseas habit — "give way to whoever is already in the roundabout" — is not the South African rule at a mini-circle, and it is a recorded wrong answer. On a large traffic circle without yield signs, regulation 301 applies as above and you give way to traffic already within the junction.
Either way you move clockwise, and you try not to drive over the circle itself. A driver who treats a mini-circle as a four-way stop, stopping dead when nothing is coming, is not following the sign in front of them.
Signalling on a circle
Indicate left before you leave the circle, so the drivers waiting to enter behind you can see you are coming out. That is the signal that actually keeps a circle moving.
Everything else follows the ordinary turning rules: signal your intention before you act on it, and do not change direction where it would obstruct or endanger other traffic.
The two mistakes
Yielding to everything on your right rather than to the traffic already in the circle. Regulation 301 says "within such junction". A car approaching the circle from your right has not entered it, and waiting for it stalls the circle behind you.
The mirror image: carrying the four-way stop habit onto a circle, or the circle habit onto a four-way stop. They are different junctions governed by different provisions, and the test asks about both.
See whether right of way is your weak section
Circles, stops and yields sit in the rules of the road section — one of the three you have to pass separately. The free readiness test scores you per section rather than on aggregate.
Take the free readiness testCommon questions
Who has right of way at a traffic circle in South Africa?
Traffic already in the circle, approaching from your right. Regulation 301 requires you to yield to all vehicular traffic approaching from your right within the junction before you enter it.
Do I yield to a car approaching the circle from my right?
Not if it has not entered yet. The regulation says "within such junction" — the traffic you yield to is the traffic already going around the island.
Which way do I go around a traffic circle?
Clockwise. South Africa drives on the left, so traffic moves around the island to the left of it, which is clockwise when seen from above.
Is a mini-circle the same as a four-way stop?
No. A mini-circle is normally controlled by yield signs, so you give way to anyone who will cross the yield line before you and cross your path — you do not have to come to a complete stop when nothing is coming. A four-way stop requires a full stop every time.
Do I have to indicate at a traffic circle?
Indicate left before you exit, so drivers waiting to enter can see you are leaving. It is what keeps the circle flowing.
What if a sign at the circle says something different?
Follow the sign. Regulation 301 applies "unless his or her entry into such junction is controlled by an instruction given by a traffic officer or a direction conveyed by a road traffic sign requiring him or her to act differently".
Sources
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 301"Right of way at certain road junctions": the driver "shall, when he or she intends entering any portion of a public road which constitutes a junction of two or more public roads where vehicular traffic is required to move around a traffic island within such junction, yield the right of way to all vehicular traffic approaching from his or her right within such junction, unless his or her entry into such junction is controlled by an instruction given by a traffic officer or a direction conveyed by a road traffic sign requiring him or her to act differently."
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — Schedule 1, sign R2.2The yield sign used at mini-circles: yield to any vehicle that will cross a yield line before you and cross your path; move clockwise and try not to encroach on the mini-circle. This is the citation carried by our approved questions RR-044 and RR-045.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 302Procedure when turning — signal your intention before turning, and turn with due care.
Last updated 2026-09-21.