Roundabouts are not four-way stops.
First off, let me say that I don't think people who get this wrong are necessarily careless or reckless drivers--rather, it seems that some drivers are confused by roundabouts and decide to "play it safe" by stopping and waiting until it's clear.
The irony, of course, is that their attempt to be safe makes it all the more likely I'll end up rear-ending them.
Honestly, I feel like the way Americans tend to "teach" roundabouts is too convoluted and ends up confusing people. The rule for roundabouts is very simple: drivers yield when coming in, not going out. (Note: yield, not stop.)
If the roundabout is clear as you approach, go on in, don't stop. If there's another driver in the roundabout when you approach, slow down a bit more and let them pass you by. The vast majority of the time, you never actually need to come to a complete stop
The irony, of course, is that their attempt to be safe makes it all the more likely I'll end up rear-ending them.
Honestly, I feel like the way Americans tend to "teach" roundabouts is too convoluted and ends up confusing people. The rule for roundabouts is very simple: drivers yield when coming in, not going out. (Note: yield, not stop.)
If the roundabout is clear as you approach, go on in, don't stop. If there's another driver in the roundabout when you approach, slow down a bit more and let them pass you by. The vast majority of the time, you never actually need to come to a complete stop
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Too many people in this country drive straight onto roundabouts when they don't really have room to do so, and it's dangerous.
All the proper roundabouts* in my city were built in the last 10-15 years and so are pretty modern in design, taking into account things like adequate line-of-sight and realistic traffic volumes. I can see why that wouldn't necessarily be the case in a country where roundabouts have been the norm for many decades, though.
* I say "proper roundabouts" because we also have crap like this that's much older, but that's basically just an all-way stop with a decorative island in the middle
This is very close to where I lived in Connecticut.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.867541,-72.492944,3a,75y,120.78h,99.09t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sLsmg1aQb4FgKUfZwiGSkyg!2e0!6s//geo2.ggpht.com/cbk?panoid=Lsmg1aQb4FgKUfZwiGSkyg&output=thumbnail&cb_client=maps_sv.tactile.gps&thumb=2&w=100&h=80&yaw=248.76808&pitch=0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
It's a five-way intersection. If you look through the historical imagery, you'll notice it was stop-sign controlled back in 2008-2009 and only by 2012 was it made into a roundabout.
Though I've seen a lot of truck drivers who are good enough to make it through roundabouts without even having to use the apron