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Is a roundabout what we Massachusetians call a rotary ?

Rotaries are the epitome of driver ed;
Y'gutt'a look and think ahead as to what you want to do .. place yourself in line for that act .. and once in ... you're committed.

Rotaries are for intelligent people.

If a rotary (or roundabout) baffles you ... I'd suggest a bus or cab ...

What I’ve always found hard in this country is negotiating a left hand turn in parts of New Jersey where they love to use what they call a “jug ear”....a good thought, making two rights after an intersection on a jug ear to execute a left turn. Trouble is they (NY) seems to like to hide theses damned things in the bushes and don’t put signs out until you’ve damned near passed them.

Is a roundabout what we Massachusetians call a rotary ?

Yes. And in northeast Ohio, we called them 'traffic circles'.

It seems that governments love these things for some stupid reason. They speak of the awesome effect of "traffic calming" that comes from the roundabout. A much better solution would be a huge cloverleaf interchange and 70 mph speed limits on all major arteries.

Stopping and starting wastes fuel. Slowing and accelerating wastes fuel. And both waste time.

Rotaries are much easier, and every other facet of driving, too, if the driver knows where his car is on the road. Most people do not have any idea how large or where their car's "footprint" is. I would have disputed that until I finally gave in to the blandishments of a co-worker years ago and did an exercise with a simple 12 inch ruler. I carried it in the seat beside me and when coming home or parking most anywhere that I could drive up to a light pole or a wall. I would drive up to it and stop, no backing and filling, just stop, then get out and check the distance between the front bumper and the obstruction. It only took me three or 4 times doing this before I could stop every time within less than an inch of the length of the ruler. I could see the difference on the street, in fact it was glaring. I had a new and much more precise idea of just where every other car in my sight was. One effect is that I could now parallel park with fewer moves, more confidence, and less time. I can drive through much narrower spaces between obstructions, etc. I included the ruler exercise as well as map reading when I taught all four of my kids to drive. The skill is transferable to vehicles of different sizes and shapes without redoing the exercise.

Even if you are confident at the wheel try it, your perspective will change, maybe radically.