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Committee votes do‑not‑pass on bill to remove signaling requirement in roundabouts
Summary
The committee voted to recommend a do‑not‑pass on House Bill 1518, a sponsor‑led measure to remove a statutory requirement that drivers signal exits from roundabouts (described in statute as rotary traffic islands); proponents said enforcement is impractical and the term should be changed to “roundabout.”
Representative Lori Beth Hager introduced House Bill 1518 to the Senate Transportation Committee, saying the bill would remove a legal requirement that drivers signal their exit from a rotary traffic island (the Century Code term) — language she said is poorly understood and poorly enforced. “This bill would eliminate the legal requirement for a driver to signal their exit while driving in a roundabout,” Hager said, and she urged the committee to consider changing statutory language to the more commonly used term “roundabout.”
Former Horace Mayor Corey Peterson testified in support, saying local deputies do not enforce the signaling rule and that roundabouts improve safety near his district’s high school. “They are not enforcing the signaling thing because they're not gonna hang around a roundabout wanting to watch for signaling,” Peterson said.
Senator Rummel and other committee members recalled previous lengthy legislative debate on so‑called rotary islands and noted strong earlier opposition; Rummel moved a do‑not‑pass on the grounds the language already exists in a companion measure or is duplicative. Senator Rummel’s do‑not‑pass motion, seconded by Senator Hogan, was adopted on a roll call: Chairman Clemens, Vice Chair Corey, Senator Hogan, Senator Klein and Senator Romo all recorded aye votes and the motion passed.
Committee discussion also included suggestions to update the statute’s terminology from “rotary traffic island” to “roundabout” for clarity. With the do‑not‑pass recommendation carried, the committee did not advance House Bill 1518.
