Page 14 - AHATA

Tuesday 9 sepTember 2025 locAl
A10

Basic driving rules on Aruba: Roundabouts

(Oranjestad)—Have you about is on your far left. lane of the highway. Airport roundabout
ever felt confused when The general lane to drive Ah, yes. The infamous air- When you’re driving to-
you’re driving on the high- in—both at maximum and It’s also important to know port roundabout. The fa- wards this roundabout,
ways or backstreets of minimum speed—is on the that vehicles about to en- vorite roundabout amongst you’ll notice that the road
Aruba? Then we present a right lane. ter the roundabout must local, because of its easy becomes wider, splitting
simple guide to some of the yield to those already on it. (hard) lanes that never into two lanes. The right
basic rules of Aruban traf- Roundabouts A good rule of thumb is to (always) cause confusion lane is used to take the
fic, along with some tips for Speaking of roundabouts, it look out if someone is com- among drivers. Sarcasm first and second exit on the
things to look out for. is important to know where ing from your left side. aside, this roundabout can right. If you want to exit
you have to enter and be tricky to enter, especial- straight ahead, you must
Speed limit drive on the roundabout to However, other round- ly when you’re driving from drive on the left lane!
Legally, the speed limit on make your exit. A good rule abouts can be quite tricky the direction of the airport
the four-lane highways is of thumb is to count the ex- to navigate… heading. When you’re driv- It’s always scary to drive in
80 km/h. This speed limit its starting from your right ing away from the airport new places where the traf-
also counts for the main side. So, exit 1 would be reaching the roundabout, fic may look and work dif-
roads that are connected on your right; exit 2 would Watty Vos Boulevard (the you’ll be faced with three ferently, but once you get
to the highways. The mini- be straight ahead; exit 3 “paperclip” roundabout) lanes. The far right lane is it right once, you’ll get the
mum speed is 50 km/h. would be on your far left Probably the biggest round- to take the exit 1 out head- hang of it in no time. Ad-
Most people drive around and exit 4 would lead to about on the island, the ing east (right lane of high- ditionally, all roundabouts
60 km/h on the main roads the road paralleled to the “paperclip” roundabout way). The middle exit is and roads on Aruba have
and about 70 km/h on the one you’re on, heading in on the Watty Vos Boule- used for exit 1 (left lane of signs and arrows painted
highways. There are also ar- the other direction. vard is one of the trickier highway), 2 and 3. The far on the road to help guide
eas that indicate a speed roundabouts that could— left exit is used to only exit you. So take your time,
limit on a sign; these are Most roundabouts have and has—caused con- on exit 3 (left lane of high- keep your eyes open and
usually around populated these 4 exits, so they are rel- fused among both tourists way) and 4. don’t forget to wear a seat
and school areas. atively simple. When you’re and locals. However, once belt!q
driving on the four-lane you take a good look at it, “Las Americas” round-
The four-lane highways highway, it is important to it’s fairly simple. The basis about
contain the left-lane, also know when to switch to is just the same as a regu- The Las Americas round-
known as the “fast” lane the left lane to make your lar roundabout (left exit? about is located near the
for each direction. Here is exit: if your exit is on your far left lane! etc.), but instead Talk of the Town hotel, west
where vehicles can drive left (exit 3), then you need of having four different ex- from the airport round-
up to the maximum speed. to switch to the left lane its like on a regular round- about. This roundabout
However, legally it is not on the high way before about, now you have two may look like a regular
permitted to drive for long nearing the roundabout extra; one on the right and roundabout—and for the
periods of time on the left so you can take the path the other on the left side of most part, it is. However,
lane. This lane is primar- that leads you directly to the roundabout. The rules when you are driving from
ily designed for drivers your exit. If your exit is on don’t change at all, you the east going in the direc-
to switch lanes before a your right or if you’re going just have to keep an extra tion of town, please take
roundabout, for example, straight ahead, you can eye open. note that there are two ex-
if your exit on the round- keep driving in the right its on your right.