New Roundabout Trend

Iceweasel

Biggles wrote: »

Being in the wrong lane by mistake is bad driving.

Not necessarily.

The Highway Code explains how to negotiate roundabouts correctly - but in every single example they add unless signs or markings indicate otherwise and therein is the problem.

Frequently the signs are so close to the roundabout that heavy traffic in both, or all three, lanes means that one finds oneself unexpectedly in the 'wrong' lane.

Road marking can easily be worn off - or obscured by traffic in front.

Only local knowledge helps in those circumstances - the stranger is then deemed a lane-crasher or a fool.

Here's an example which would be funny if it were not dangerous - The city of Perth in Scotland has it's own system of which lane to be used at roundabouts and traffic lights, which is NOT as per the Highway Code.

A little further North the city of Aberdeen has it's own way of doing things - different from both Perth and the Highway Code.

People who live in Perth get quite frustrated on a visit to Aberdeen as things are at variance from what they expect and are used to.

People from Aberdeen feel exactly the same when they are in Perth.

Then come the holidaymakers in the Summer - they DO have fun.

So - pay attention and be a little more patient and understanding.

nickcc

stator wrote: »

Are you talking about going all the way around the roundabout to avoid a queue turning left?
Might have done that a few times myself. As long as the manouver is done with correct signals there's nothing really wrong with it. It's been around for decades.

Used to happen at the Jarrow/Tyne Tunnel roundabout every morning, was a nasty shock when the Police sent you back the way you had come on their once frequent checks.

Nasqueron

photome wrote: »

Thats one of my pet hates. the idiots have no idea that they are doing it

Good example of it here (first clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_cdVs_AWP4

Strider590

Nasqueron wrote: »

Have to disagree on that, the problem IS that they don't stick in lanes to go around, they do it every time regardless of if people are near or not. The roundabout on the A435 near Beckett's Farm out of Birmingham has quite a white lane one so cars never bother going around it and cars in lane 2 drive in the hashed area as a matter of course to avoid being hit

I counter your disagree with another disagree

They MUST know they're doing it because at some point they MUST have been following a driver that didn't do it and surely seeing what other drivers do is going to make them think??????

I get people doing it behind me, at the very least they have to wonder why i'm going around in lane instead of taking the direct route, on some level that HAS to register as "hey this guy is doing something different to me".


This does raise another point though, the people that straight line roundabouts are usually the same people that whine about people taking a fast line through corners OR swinging wide (in large cars, vans, trucks) before taking a turn to avoid hitting a kerb.

Roland_Sausage

Iceweasel wrote: »

Not necessarily.

The Highway Code explains how to negotiate roundabouts correctly - but in every single example they add unless signs or markings indicate otherwise and therein is the problem.

Frequently the signs are so close to the roundabout that heavy traffic in both, or all three, lanes means that one finds oneself unexpectedly in the 'wrong' lane.

Agree with this. One of my pet hates about driving in this country is the fact that roundabouts and junctions tend to have the lane markings written on the road, and if traffic is heavy and you don't know the road, it is easy to end up in the wrong lane.

One thing that impressed me about driving in the US recently - when you are coming up to to an intersection, there's usually signs up at the side of the road showing which lane to be in.

DCFC79

Lee its not just you who experiences this, Ive witnessed it myself for a couple of years amd its annoying when your in the correct lane and some !!!!!! is in the wrong lane but wanting to go left when in the middle lane.

ThemeOne

Biggles wrote: »

Being in the wrong lane by mistake is bad driving.

I don't agree.

Signs at multi lane roundabouts often appear too late for people to safely change lane if they're in the wrong one. You can say they should always be in the right one but it's not always obvious which one is the right one until you see the sign.

I always work on the assumption that people doing strange things are just a bit lost, rather than trying to cut me up, will let them in if I can and try to anticipate people needing to change lanes suddenly. If some of them are trying to queue jump they're welcome to - life is really too short to get wound up about these things.

DCFC79

Unfortunately we live in a world where people can't/won't take responsibility for theyre actions and driving is 1 instance where there's a small minority of numbers who fail to use common sense.