Turning Left onto a roundabout

07Lapierre

Why does everyone turning left onto a roundabout wait for a gap in both lanes of the roundabout before turning onto the roundabout???

Every morning here turning left from clonshaugh road onto the N32, theres always someone who waits for BOTH lanes on the roundabout to be clear before moving.

Why :mad:

(rant over)

Welease

I'd imagine, because quiet sensibly they know 99% of people currently on the roundabout have no idea what the correct procedure is

The Muppet

07Lapierre wrote: »

Why does everyone turning left onto a roundabout wait for a gap in both lanes of the roundabout before turning onto the roundabout???

Every morning here turning left from clonshaugh road onto the N32, theres always someone who waits for BOTH lanes on the roundabout to be clear before moving.

Why :mad:

(rant over)

It could be because either lane could be taking that exit or maybe the cautious drivers are worried about being taken out of it by some of our wonderful drivers who appear to be oblivious to lanes on roundabouts.

biko

Prob because you can never trust the people currently on the RB to not suddenly change lane and hit you.

07Lapierre

The Muppet wrote: »

It could be because either lane could be taking that exit or maybe the cautious drivers are worried about being taken out of it by some of our wonderful drivers who appear to be oblivious to lanes on roundabouts.

Most mornings at this roundabout, most of the traffic coming from the M50 ARE going directly onto the N32. So once theres a suitable gap in the traffic, theres no reason not to turn left onto the roundabout. Only reason i can think of is inexperience.Very frustrating for the rest of us though.

vibe666

the streetview image you linked to is a prime example of why people do it.

that astra has just started to move from the inside to the outside lane just before the 2 lane entrance to the roundabout where the POV is. a split second earlier he was on the inside lane and could have been going right round, but wasn't.

if you don't automatically assume that everyone on the road is an idiot and on the verge of causing an accident at any time, sooner or later you're going to get caught out.

when you're driving, you take precautions not because you are actually going to get involved in an accident 9999 times out of 10,000 that you get behind the wheel, but for the 1 time when you might.

if everyone chose to drive around like all of the other drivers on the road were good drivers and knew exactly what they were doing, we'd have the worst accident rate in europe.

07Lapierre wrote: »

Only reason i can think of is inexperience.Very frustrating for the rest of us though.

experience also tells us that "most" isn't the same as "all" and it's the one you're not thinking about that will catch you off guard.

07Lapierre

vibe666 wrote: »

the streetview image you linked to is a prime example of why people do it.

that astra has just started to move from the inside to the outside lane just before the 2 lane entrance to the roundabout where the POV is. a split second earlier he was on the inside lane and could have been going right round, but wasn't.

if you don't automatically assume that everyone on the road is an idiot and on the verge of causing an accident at any time, sooner or later you're going to get caught out.

I'm on the road and I'm not an idiot.

Even if the Astra in the photo moved like you describe, IF there was a car coming onto the roundabout from the clonshaugh road,with the intention of turning left, that car would be just coming off the roundabout onto the N32 by the time the Astra arrived at left lane of the Clonshaugh Road.

07Lapierre

07Lapierre wrote: »

I'm on the road and I'm not an idiot.

That's what they all think !

mathepac

07Lapierre wrote: »

... Only reason i can think of is inexperience.Very frustrating for the rest of us though.

I can think of other reasons, like not knowing that traffic approaching from your right has the right-of-way or that traffic already on a roundabout has right-of-way.

Not knowing the basic rules of the road must be very frustrating.

phill106

Because i assume everyone is out to ram me. Even if i thought they were going all the way around the roundabout, I know if i pulled out, they would crash into me "accidentally", blaming me, causing my insurance premium to rise.
Not being able to afford the higher insurance, I would not be able to drive anymore, and would then lose my job.
Shortly thereafter i would lose my home, and have to sleep in a cardboard box on the side of the road, sharing with another homeless person called ralph.
I dont like ralph.


So that is why I don't pull out when only one lane is clear.

Del2005

Like the others I never trust other drivers, they are all out to get me.

I wait till I can safely pull onto a roundabout without making any other vehicle already on it slow down or stop and I don't trust lane discipline, so a vehicle in any lane and I won't move.

I never trust indicators when pulling out of junctions. I'll always with till the car has started turning in before I'll move off and even then I'm still worried in case they remember they turned down the wrong road.

Iwannahurl

phill106 wrote: »

Because i assume everyone is out to ram me. Even if i thought they were going all the way around the roundabout, I know if i pulled out, they would crash into me "accidentally", blaming me, causing my insurance premium to rise.
Not being able to afford the higher insurance, I would not be able to drive anymore, and would then lose my job.
Shortly thereafter i would lose my home, and have to sleep in a cardboard box on the side of the road, sharing with another homeless person called ralph.
I dont like ralph.


So that is why I don't pull out when only one lane is clear.

In fact, you could end up living in a cardboard box in the middle of that self-same roundabout, which would be a cruel irony. We've seen this kind of thing before.


Roma gypsy encampment on M50 roundabout, 2007

Apart from having to put up with Ralph's irritating tics and (understandably) poor hygiene, you might also be subject to personal abuse* that would be far worse than the kind of aggro you get from some motorists on roundabouts.

So yes, caution is advised.








* Not from Ralph -- he's neurotic and smelly, but completely harmless. I should know...

TouchingVirus

07Lapierre wrote: »

Why does everyone turning left onto a roundabout wait for a gap in both lanes of the roundabout before turning onto the roundabout???

Every morning here turning left from clonshaugh road onto the N32, theres always someone who waits for BOTH lanes on the roundabout to be clear before moving.

Why :mad:

(rant over)

The one time I didn't wait for both lanes to be clear on a roundabout I smashed into a cyclist who had been in the inside lane and clean cut across me. Got a lovely little claim out of me and I got a nice insurance hike.

Still, thanks for the tip OP.

keithclancy

07Lapierre wrote: »

Why does everyone turning left onto a roundabout wait for a gap in both lanes of the roundabout before turning onto the roundabout???

Every morning here turning left from clonshaugh road onto the N32, theres always someone who waits for BOTH lanes on the roundabout to be clear before moving.

Why :mad:

(rant over)

Because people already on the roundabout have right of way, if you pull out and the guy on the inside lane decides to change lanes and hits you, your in the wrong.

07Lapierre

TouchingVirus wrote: »

The one time I didn't wait for both lanes to be clear on a roundabout I smashed into a cyclist who had been in the inside lane and clean cut across me. Got a lovely little claim out of me and I got a nice insurance hike.

Still, thanks for the tip OP.

If you arrive at a roundabout and you are turning left and if there is a cyclist/ car/ truck/ or whatever coming towered you in the outside lane of the roundabout, then moving onto the roundabout is a bad idea. but I'm talking about a different situation, a situation where turning left is safe to do so. When is it safe to turn left? This is a decision for each individual. If I arrive at a roundabout and I'm turning left ( taking the first exit) I watch the traffic to my right. If it is safe, I turn left and move off the roundabout. This is safe at the particular roundabout I'm talking about.

bazzachazza

TouchingVirus

I said the cyclist was in the inside lane. He was one of those people who decided to change lanes very late. As said above, traffic on the roundabout has right of way and should anything happen it would be your fault for pulling out onto the roundabout whether you thought it safe or not. I deemed it safe, after all the person I hit made no indication to move to the outside land and hadn't moved into the outside lane before I pulled off.

I'll wait in future, if it means somebody like yourself gets a bit frustrated then so be it - I'll take that over a claim any day