6.3 Roundabouts, Narrow Roads and Opposite-Direction Priority
Key Takeaways
- Guyana is left-hand traffic, so you circulate a roundabout clockwise and give way to circulating traffic coming from your right.
- The Code’s illustrated set names Roundabout as sign 20, Road narrows as sign 21, Opening bridge as sign 25, and Priority to vehicles from the opposite direction as sign 34.
- Do not overtake where the road narrows, or at or near a bridge or narrow culvert.
- If a priority-to-the-opposite-direction sign faces you, you wait for the oncoming vehicle on the pinch.
- Drive carefully and within the speed limit prescribed when crossing the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Canje Bridge.
Roundabouts, narrow roads, opening bridges
The Code’s illustrated sign list is part of what it calls the language of the road. Sign 20 is Roundabout. Sign 21 is Road narrows. Sign 25 is Opening bridge. Sign 34 is Priority to be given to vehicles coming in the opposite direction. Sign 4 is Priority road ahead. The driver’s-test advice in the same booklet tells applicants who live in the country that they may still be asked about traffic lights, signs, roundabouts, and the rest. This section is independent study of those plates and of Code rule 27 on the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Canje Bridge. It does not claim official approval or partnership with GPF.
Quick Answer: Circulate a roundabout clockwise and give way to circulating traffic, which approaches from your right. A road narrows warning means the carriageway is about to squeeze — do not overtake there. A priority to the opposite direction sign means you wait for the oncoming vehicle on the pinch. An opening bridge warning means the span can open; slow and be ready to stop. On the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Canje Bridge, drive carefully and within the speed limit prescribed.
Roundabouts in left-hand traffic
Because rule 22 keeps you on the left, the circulating flow around a central island runs clockwise — the opposite of the anti-clockwise habit taught in right-hand-traffic countries. If you learned abroad, reset that picture before you sit. You approach on the left. You give way to traffic already on the roundabout. That circulating traffic is coming from your right. The give-way-to-the-right idea in rule 43 and the roundabout give-way are the same geometry: danger first from the right.
Do not enter by cutting across the island. Do not stop on the circulating carriageway to argue about who arrived first. Do not take a right-hand-traffic “left turn is free” habit into a Guyana roundabout. Give signals of your intention correctly, clearly and in GOOD TIME (rule 31). If Police are controlling the circulating arms, signal clearly which way you want to go (rule 32) and obey the rank. Rule 45 still applies to a spectator waving you into a moving circle: do not rely on that go-ahead.
When you leave, keep the left-hand discipline of rule 22 unless road markings or a one-way layout require a different lane. Rule 49 still applies at the arms: give way to pedestrians who are crossing as you turn. Rule 39 still applies if traffic stacks: in a hold-up, keep in your own lane. A roundabout is a junction in a circle, not a holiday from the Road Junctions chapter.
Narrow roads and the opposite-direction priority sign
Road narrows (sign 21) is a warning that the width you have will not last. Rule 34 already listed places you must not overtake: a corner or bend, a road junction, a pedestrian crossing, a bridge or narrow culvert, the top of a hill or rising of the roadway. It then says DO NOT OVERTAKE where the road narrows, or when doing so would force other vehicles to swerve or reduce speed. A narrow culvert on a country road, a squeeze beside road works (sign 28), and a coastal pinch with a stalled lorry are the same family of hazard.
Sign 34 is more specific than “be careful.” It means priority to be given to vehicles coming in the opposite direction. On a one-lane pinch — a narrow bridge, a temporary lane through works, a coastal stretch reduced to one moving lane — one direction has been given the right to proceed. If that sign faces you, the oncoming driver has priority. You wait in a place that does not block the path they need. You do not meet in the middle and negotiate if the plate has already named who goes.
Do not confuse sign 34 with no parking on alternate dates (sign 35), stopping prohibited (sign 37), or Overtake with Caution (sign 40 in the same illustrated list). Those are different plates. Sign 34 is a priority instruction on a squeeze, not a parking calendar and not a permission to overtake.
On the narrower roads, even pedal cyclists are told (rule 57) to move into single file when being overtaken. That is width and courtesy, not a separate motor-car licence class, but it shows how the Code treats a squeeze: make room; do not insist on two abreast.
Opening bridges — and the two named crossings
Sign 25, Opening bridge, warns that a span can lift or swing for river traffic. Treat it as a junction-quality hazard: slow, be ready to stop, watch for lights, barriers, or a police rank, and do not overtake onto a deck that may be about to open. Guyana’s rivers are working waterways. An opening-bridge plate is not a decorative warning for visitors.
Rule 27 names two crossings every candidate should be able to spell: drive carefully and within the speed limit prescribed when crossing the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Canje Bridge. The Code does not print a private speed of your own for those decks. Posted signs take precedence over a remembered figure from a friend (speed limits are taught in a later chapter). Rule 27 adds a named-bridge duty of care on top of whatever number is prescribed or posted. It is not a licence to treat the harbour crossing as an open highway because the view is wide, and it is not a Canje exception for locals who “know the rhythm.”
Do not overtake on those bridges as if they were a dual carriageway. Rule 34 already forbids overtaking at or near a bridge or narrow culvert. If traffic stacks on the approach, keep in your own lane (rule 39). If a Fire Brigade unit, an ambulance, or a police vehicle sounds its siren, pull to the left and STOP so the unit can pass — including on the approach to a named bridge if that is where you are. At night, dim your lights as the same emergency paragraph requires.
Putting the plates in one list
| Code sign number (illustrated set) | Name | Junction or priority meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Priority road ahead | You are approaching or on a priority route; others should give way only if their signs say so — you still look |
| 12 / 13 | Intersection / intersection with a non-priority road | Geometry warning; still apply rules 40–45 |
| 20 | Roundabout | Clockwise circulation; give way to circulating traffic from the right |
| 21 | Road narrows | Prepare for a squeeze; do not overtake |
| 25 | Opening bridge | Span may open; slow and be ready to stop |
| 34 | Priority to opposite direction | Give way to oncoming vehicles on the pinch |
A single mental model
Uncontrolled junction: SLOW, STOP, or YIELD, then look right-left-right, then major road or give way to the right. Roundabout: the same right-side priority, in a circle, clockwise. Narrow road or opposite-priority plate: the oncoming vehicle may own the only lane. Named bridges: care plus the prescribed limit. Opening bridge: treat the river as a moving obstacle.
If you live outside Georgetown, the Code still expects you to answer on roundabouts and lights. If you live in the city, it still expects you to answer on a narrow culvert and the Canje Bridge. Study both. This independent chapter teaches those published signs and rules; it does not replace the illustrated pages in the Road Traffic Code.
On a Guyana roundabout, which circulation and give-way rule matches left-hand traffic?
What does the Code’s illustrated sign “Priority to be given to vehicles coming in the opposite direction” require of you?
What does Code rule 27 require when you cross the Demerara Harbour Bridge or the Canje Bridge?