An Open Letter to Drivers Using the Tiverton Casino Rotary

This one goes out to any driver out there who has yet to experience a rotary or who need a refresher course on how to drive on one.

First off, I apologize if I sound a little salty, I'm just fed up with the ignorance I witness on the road sometimes. Mostly, it's the amount of people with their heads buried in their phones, but I'm not getting into that today.

In Tiverton, there's a fairly new casino that's only been open for three years or so and part of its construction was a rotary – or a roundabout, depending on where you're from, I suppose. This rotary was designed for a smooth flow in and out of the casino and for all other commuters who travel back and forth across the Massachusetts and Rhode Island line.

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I've read complaints online about it being "small" and "too tight" for larger vehicles. Listen, it's not built like the Daytona 500, it's modified to slow down the traffic a busy intersection. You're traveling between 40-50 mph each way. Anyone trying to leave the casino or cut across to enter it from the opposite side is asking for trouble; hence, the reasoning behind the rotary.

Let's begin with the rules of the rotary according to Mass.Gov, shall we?

It's One Direction, and I Don't Mean the Boy Band.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and for a majority of the country, the travel-flow of a rotary or roundabout is always counter-clockwise. Merging the opposite way of traffic could result in an accident, injury or worse, depending on the impact and speed of each vehicle.

If You're Not Inside the Rotary, You Don't Have the Right of Way.

When pulling up to a rotary or roundabout, you must always yield to the oncoming counter-clockwise traffic that are driving within the rotary. Take your time (but not too long), don't cut anyone off for the love of everything holy and please be cautious of your surroundings.

Aye, Guy! Use Ya Blinkah, Will Ya?

Once you've arrived at your exit destination off the rotary or roundabout, use your right-hand signal to let the drivers behind you aware of your decision that you're preparing to exit. There's no need to be a last-minute Sally; you're on an enclosed circle, catch it the next time around.

It's 2021, people, can we finally go back to being a little more considerate on the roadways? Road rage is overrated and driving etiquette is disappearing by the generation. There are more people on the roads now than ever, so take that into consideration. We tend to forget that driving is privilege not a right and if it gets taken away, it could change your life drastically.

The communication at the Tiverton rotary is poor and I'm utterly shocked and relieved at the same time that there hasn't been a major accident thus far. Use your cabeza (head) if you're ever in that area, and like my grandfather always told me, "Watch out for the other guy!" He's not wrong, you know.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Driver