Roundabout lanes

JP08

"Those have been the rules since at least the 2007 edition, so anyone who doesn't know has little excuse."

I know - but that is scant comfort to the bike rider when he's lying in the road with what looks like three knees in one leg tangled round the remenants of the bike frame ... hence the question - though I'm not expecting a flood of admissions of ignorance :O)

And a little reminder that different road users have different rules never hurts.

reeac

dannyrst wrote: »

Hi all,


We have a roundabout in my town which shows the exit after 12 o clock but the turn off is actually straight ahead and you seem to get a mixture of lane choices. This probably isn't helped because it had two signs (one for major routes, one for local routes) and one shows the exit at 12 o clock (main routes) whereas the other shows it just after 12 o clock.

We spent a week in Provence last month with a hire car. There are loads of roundabouts there, as elsewhere in France, and of course being a tourist I had no foreknowledge of any of them. In such circumstances the plan as you approach is invaluable and needs to be accurate. Once you are on the roundabout it's all too easy to lose track of direction so count the exits on the plan as you approach.
I agree with the comment about mixing local place names with more distant ones ....Milton Keynes and Northhampton are places which I remember as being particularly bad for this. It's all very well for local commuters to grumble about the behaviour of others but they may well be strangers who need accurate and consistent signage.

boatman

Main problem is the lines around the roundabout, often cause more problems than they solve. They give people the right to fly past you in 'their' lane. If there were no lines and people travel at a similar speed I think perhaps it would flow more easily, and allow people to move to the outside as they approach their exit.

almillar

Example:
Two lanes coming up to a roundabout with 3 exits. Sign shows a left hand exit (9 o clock), an exit at 1 o clock and a right exit (3 o clock). Now if that exit is clearly straight across when you are closer to the roundabout, I'd have been in the right hand lane as the sign shows the exit after 12 o clock, and therefore the left lane is effectively only for cars turning left.
Surely being in the right hand lane gives you option to do a full lap and exit correctly?

If you're taking the 1 o'clock exit, I think either lane would be acceptable, but I'd be expecting more speed from you if you were in the right hand lane, being the 'overtaking lane' if the 1 o'clock exit also has 2 lanes. Otherwise, stick to the left lane. I think you should treat 1 o'clock as straight on, but I also think you need to flex, instead of applying hard and fast rules. Roundabouts are very variable, as is people's behaviour on them!

halkineso

Can some one explain me this roundabout. For example if you're going to bedfont its at 12 o'clock exit, but you have to be in the middle lane. How to know which lane to take if there is cars waiting on road markings. Thank you.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4479575,-0.4513109,3a,75y,71.59h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYMp8mPMzwI9AGYjQcaDFlQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

sheramber

Used to live where there was a roundabout with 5 exits with three lanes going round.

It was known locally as the Magic Roundabout.

You were regularly cut up by someone changing lane to exit the roundabout. There were many accidents on that roundabout- which handily was outside the police station- and many more near misses.

Feral_Moon

sheramber wrote: »

Used to live where there was a roundabout with 5 exits with three lanes going round.

It was known locally as the Magic Roundabout.

You were regularly cut up by someone changing lane to exit the roundabout. There were many accidents on that roundabout- which handily was outside the police station- and many more near misses.

There's a similar one I often use called Fiveways Roundabout and never a day goes by there isn't an accident. There are huge campaigns going on in an attempt to improve safety but council funds are severely lacking.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fiveways+roundabout&rlz=1C9BKJA_enGB628GB628&oq=fiveways+r&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3j69i60.8029j0j9&hl=en-GB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

almillar

Can some one explain me this roundabout

I can't see that link, but if there are specific road markings for which lane to be in (increasingly common) you follow them, simple as that. Of course if cars are over them it makes that difficult, but there is often a sign before the roundabout which will tell you what lane to be in. Otherwise 'approach with caution'.

bod1467

almillar wrote: »

I can't see that link

The problem is that the forum breaks up long lines of text. Try this link.

JimmyTheWig

halkineso wrote: »

Can some one explain me this roundabout. For example if you're going to bedfont its at 12 o'clock exit, but you have to be in the middle lane. How to know which lane to take if there is cars waiting on road markings. Thank you.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4479575,-0.4513109,3a,75y,71.59h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYMp8mPMzwI9AGYjQcaDFlQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

The A30 (10 o'clock exit) is shown on the signpost with a thick line, which suggests that two lanes are coming off.
So you can't be in the left-hand lane if you're going past it.